


Tales of a Scientific Ninja

by ChaosIsOrder



Category: Naruto
Genre: Adopted Uzumaki Naruto, Alternate Universe, Evil Shimura Danzou, For Science!, Fuinjutsu Logic, Genjutsu, Good Orochimaru (Naruto), Goose summons, LGBTQ Themes, No Uchiha Massacre, OC Jinchuriki, Queer Character, Queer Themes, Untitled Goose Game References, Uzumaki Naruto Has a Twin, Uzumaki Naruto has parents
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-13
Updated: 2020-12-11
Packaged: 2021-03-03 20:13:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 21
Words: 78,268
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24691333
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChaosIsOrder/pseuds/ChaosIsOrder
Summary: What happens when a science-savvy teacher gets reincarnated in Konoha? Imperfect knowledge, a chaotic (scientific) disposition and a drive to help others grow, come together in the dangerous world of Shinobi.
Relationships: Haruno Sakura & Uzumaki Naruto, Hyuuga Hinata & Morino Ibiki, Hyuuga Hinata & Original Character(s), Jiraiya & Orochimaru & Tsunade (Naruto), Mitarashi Anko & Uchiha Sasuke, Original Character & Hyuuga Hinata & Uchiha Sasuke & Mitarashi Anko, Orochimaru (Naruto) & Original Character(s), Rock Lee & Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke & Original Character(s), Uchiha Sasuke & Uzumaki Naruto, Uzumaki Naruto & Original Character(s)
Comments: 31
Kudos: 139





	1. Prologue 1

**Disclaimer:** I'll do this once and once only. The world and story of Naruto is the property of Masashi Kishimoto. I am definitely not Masashi Kishimoto. Everything here is a fiction I have written based on the works of Masashi Kishimoto. _I do not own Naruto._

 **Note:** In this chapter, and this chapter alone, the _italics_ represent the 'speech' of the powers that be.

 **Note 2:** As of 26/05/2020, I have updated this chapter to make more sense. Updates of the other three chapters published so far will be on the way soon too.

 **Note 3:** I apologise for the prologue and up to chapter 5 being in first person. I'm going to change them to third person like chapter 6 onward at some point soon.

 **Note 4:** I've decided to leave this prologue chapter in the first person, feels more natural here.

 **Note 5:** I don't super love this chapter, looking back on it now. Bear with me a couple more chapters, the flavour will come through.

* * *

It's always a shame when young talent die. It's usually inspiring to watch as a young up-and-comer with big dreams and the ability to make them come true go into the world and start making that change. I had those people cheering me on, and I had the grand dreams of educational reforms. Speaking frankly, it was just embarrassing that the industrial era still had such an influence on every school student. School should be about learning and growing, not getting good test grades. Still young, I was a bloody good teacher, and it hurt so much when cancer ripped me away from my career, stole my dreams so suddenly.

I suppose there was a silver lining, given what happened next. I was glad that I hadn't found a partner, settled down and had kids yet, because I would never recover from losing that.

What happened next, you ask?

Shenanigans.

After I 'went to sleep' for the last time in my hospital bed, I wasn't greeted by the nothingness I had expected. I was so sure that I would close my eyes and just simply cease to exist. But no, I opened my eyes and saw... a fucking glowing outline of a human. If this was what I thought it was, then at least it could have happened without the absurd cliche.

"So am I anywhere near justified in quoting the line 'Magic is just science we don't understand yet'?" I called out to this luminous apparition, which may well just be a dream or hallucination before I actually die.

 _A pretty fair call, but let's not go into the details. Let's just say that there is a tiny shred of truth in human theistic beliefs, but a good 90% of it was completely made up to justify the unknown. Any more questions, or can we get down to business?_ I didn't so much hear the response as become aware of it, which made sense but was still rather creepy. Even so, the confirmation made me laugh, feeling somewhat victorious.

"Just one question - a clarification, if you will. Is there a rational, empirically proven answer that we just don't yet have the knowledge and technology to prove? That explains the theistic beliefs that people still hold?"

_Yes, but you were definitely pretty far away from finding the answer, as a species._

"So, now that cancer kicked my ass and crushed my dreams, what's next for me?"

_Very well then. First things first, you're going to live another life._

"On the one hand, I do like living. On the other hand, I'm talking to a glowing being that I know absolutely nothing about, in a situation that all my prior knowledge says is unlikely enough to be called impossible - despite the fact you claim that there is a scientifically justifiable answer, this really could just be some weird pre-mortem hallucination. But, well, even if it is, I have nothing to lose playing ball. Do I get to ask what this other life will be, and do I get to choose whether to live it or just kick the bucket properly here?"

_I mean, you have a choice. You can kick the bucket whenever you like in your new life if you dislike it so much, but you're definitely going to get reborn. Remember the world of Naruto?_

If it was possible for a glowing human outline to grin evilly, it just did. I stopped for a moment, genuinely shocked by just how absurd this was.

"You're telling me that somehow a fictional world written about by some guy in Japan is actually real, and that I'm going to be reborn there, of all places, after already dealing with how ridiculously impossible life after death is?" Whilst expressing my outrage, I began to run through any tests I could come up with to confirm that this _was_ all in my head. Usually I'd want to prove the opposite.

Prior to this weird-ass situation, I was definitely about to die. If this were a hallucination, it wouldn't last long - neurons can't fire fast enough for me to have a hallucination or dream that feels that much longer than it actually takes. Therefore, the best means of proving the reality of this situation I could come up with was to wait and see - either this was real and it kept going, or it wasn't and I would soon cease to exist anyway.

 _Alright, I'll give you a freebie. For reasons of our own, we're going to_ make _that world into a reality. We'll make it a bit more sensible so you don't just up and have a spite aneurysm the moment you're reborn, because that would be too boring. Don't bother trying to pry out why we're doing this. After all, we're some strange beings that are nigh on impossible to understand or even conceive of in the first place, right?_

Jeez, I could already tell why they were doing this. For fun. Reincarnating a person purely for the entertainment of the beings that apparently may have played some role in ancient human history. They were going to enjoy putting _me_ in this an absurd situation and watching it unfold. Well, assuming my test results in this being proven real, the only thing I could really do was take it all as it comes. If I'm going to live another life, I may as well make the most of it.

"Alright, so what's the deal from here?"

_Now, we talk about your memory. As a baseline, you'll remember who you were in your now past life. This will come with your sense of identity, and personality, a vague recollection of what happened through your life, and some specifics when it comes to formative experiences. Now, we know you're familiar with the world we're sending you into. It would be too boring to let you remember everything you knew about it, so you'll have to choose three things to remember about this world. We'll even be so kind as to help you out, with one freebie. You're going to be born into Konoha, and be the same age as Uzumaki Naruto. Given that, you may now choose three things to remember about this world._

Trying to take this all in stride as best I could, I stopped to think. I tried to consider everything important, so I could best equip myself for this new life - assuming this was, in fact, real. I guessed that I'd know by the time I was reborn, if that even happened. So if this was real, I'd be born into a dangerous world, into a village run by a military dictator, and death could come too easily for the weak. Presumably I'd grow up in circumstances that made me want to become a shinobi. Becoming a shinobi meant high risk of death in the line of duty if I didn't get strong enough. But, if I grew too strong too fast at a young age, depending on who I was reborn as, I was at risk of Danzo kidnapping me. While I might want to remember Danzo just in case, it did take up one of my three memories, and came with risks of its own. Given that Konoha was home to a clan of mind-readers, if I knew too much about matters like Danzo, or even the Uchiha Massacre, or the Akatsuki, or anything else, chances were that I would slip up and be taken in for interrogation. It seemed far more sensible to choose memories that would help me to become strong, and put me in a less suspicious position should my mind be read, or at least a more trustworthy one.

The first choice was obvious. I would want to remember how chakra works, so that I could get a running headstart on training. Chakra control seems like the most versatile skill I could develop and make use of, so I'd want to start with that early.

For another, I'd want some way of finding someone who I could trust to help me train when I become a shinobi, and actually do a good job of teaching. But they couldn't be someone too high profile like Tsunade, because that would land me in Torture & Interrogation. After a moment of running through my options, I came up with the perfect choice. Might Guy. Incredibly capable as a shinobi and one of the best teachers in the canon, in my opinion. On top of that, were I to be found out as someone who was reborn into this world, if I came clean about what I knew, the absurdity of knowing about Guy of all people would help me seem less like a threat and more like a trustworthy ally. Besides, I could think of a few people who would benefit from being introduced to him at an earlier age.

Finally, I'd want to know something that would help me navigate the dangers of this world, but again without landing me in T&I. Most of the big events would be off limits, I would just need to become capable enough to deal with them as they happened. And then, I had the perfect idea. Naruto himself was a highly capable shinobi who only started showing his real proclivity for the shinobi life late in the game. After suffering so much abuse and neglect as a child, he became a person who didn't understand what it took to be a great shinobi, and just sought attention. But not many people from my past life spoke about how impressive it is for a young child to pull of the pranks that Naruto did, successfully, and evade capture by ANBU operatives after the fact. This kid was definitely intelligent, and if I could help him have some emotional stability, he might actually get much stronger much more quickly. That way, he'd be more prepared for the crises to come, and we could pull through. Given his natural charisma, too, he'd probably bring plenty of friends along with him. And so, the third choice was settled.

"Alright, I know what I want. Firstly, I want to remember what I know about what chakra is and how it works. Second, I want to remember what I know about Might Guy. Third, I want to remember what I know about Uzumaki Naruto."

_Very well, we'll give you those three - no objections._

Then there was darkness.

And then there was light.

And then there was the sound of screaming, and the vague sense of vibration in my now tiny little throat.

And then, even more screaming.


	2. Prologue 2

**AN:** This was a bit of a weird one to write. I tried to keep as best I could to the canon for this scene, adapting it based on the added elements. It was pretty hard to write, so if it doesn't read too well I'm sorry. Hopefully later chapters will be easier to read since I'm writing my own content instead of paraphrasing someone else's…

 **Note:** I've updated this chapter as of 26/05/2020. I only really changed the last little bit though, because most of this is just canon from a few perspectives.

* * *

_Minato_

Minato had hardly been getting enough sleep lately. His duties aside, he was wracked with nervousness and excitement over the ever-nearing birth of his twin children. Exciting because he couldn't wait to be a doting father to his two children, but nervous and terrified because of how dangerous this whole operation was. He wasn't sure he would be able to keep up his duties without the help of Hiruzen and Biwako, who had been supporting him and Kushina through all of this.

Kushina could go into labour any day now. Everything was set up in the cave - the seals had been set up a week ago and were being regularly maintained by Hiruzen. Even Jiraiya-sensei had been around a couple times to make sure the barrier was as strong as was needed. Despite all of the measures put in place to keep Kushina safe, to keep the twins safe and to keep Konoha safe, something just felt _off_ to Minato.

Minato ran through possible complications in his head, carefully thinking through what was set up to avert each potential crisis, just to remind himself that it would be fine, and soon he would be father to two healthy children. But a niggling anxiety stuck in the back of his mind. As Hokage, Minato had learned not to ignore that anxiety, because sometimes the unexpected did occur, and he had to be prepared to deal with what occurred.

Minato barely registered the mechanical action of gathering his kunai, sorting the Hiraishin ones from the ordinary. He did notice the rising of the morning sun, as well as Kushina calling to him from behind.

"Minato, relax!" Kushina called out, practically reading his mind.

Minato turned to face her, and she gave him a _look_. 'If something does go wrong, you need your strength, so stop being an idiot and get some rest', communicated in just a glance.

"Thanks." Minato responded. "So you're sure that's what you want to name our firstborn? I wonder how Mikoto will react..."

"I'm sure. It just feels right, to honour him. He was really special." Kushina looked down, the slightest of frown lines appearing on her face, reliving a sour memory.

And so Minato took the day off - in a sense. Nobody could know that Kushina was pregnant, or the whole village could be put in danger. The act of childbirth would weaken Kushina's jinchuuriki seals, and risk letting the Kyubi free. So, as far as anyone was aware, Minato had another day at the office. Quietly, though, Genma and Raido, two of his three official guards, manipulated his schedule so that most of the major appointments could be handled by the Jonin commander instead. Minato was there, doing his job, as though nothing was different.

Day turned into night, as Minato used simple work to rest his mind, and regain his energy. And night turned into screaming worry. Something was happening to Kushina right now, he just knew. Minato arrived at the cave just in time to see the first of two children, Obito, being delivered. Smiling at the small body with tufts of Kushina's red hair, Minato pushed his worries to the side and prepared to get to work - he would need to begin repairing Kushina's seal.

As the second child, Naruto, was delivered, Minato allowed himself a scarce moment to enjoy a first look at his two sons. Obito with Kushina's magnificent red hair, and Naruto with Minato's gentle blonde.

And then, he got to work. And then, he heard bodies drop. Minato turned quickly, seeing the midwives hit the floor, and a cloaked, masked figure holding Naruto.

"Move, and I kill the kid. If you want your kid back, you'll let the Kyuubi's seal break." The masked figure ordered, and it was clear that this was no empty threat.

The masked figure threw Naruto into the air, and immediately Minato recognised the bait. He knew this was a diversion but he had to take it, had to save his son. Gently grabbing the boy out of the air and landing as lightly as possible, Minato barely noticed the explosive tags on Naruto's blanket.

Barely thinking, he used Hiraishin to teleport to an unused safehouse, tossed the blanket and shielded his son as he was blown away by the shockwave of the explosion. Quickly, he moved to another safehouse, where some ANBU were stationed.

"Take my son, guard him with your life. No matter what, you keep him safe!" Minato ordered, his usual gentle demeanor fractured by the current situation.

Laying Naruto gently in a cot - Minato had _insisted_ they have multiple backup safehouses prepared for the twins, _just in case_ , Minato left in a yellow flash.

By the time he returned to the cave, Kushina was gone. Obito lay silently on the ground, blood slowly pooling towards his body. Grabbing the child, he once again returned to the safehouse where Naruto was, laying Obito gently next to him.

And then, he felt it. That burning, corrosive sensation that was the Kyuubi's chakra. Following it as fast as he could, Minato arrived to see the Kyuubi free, and Kushina laying weakened on the ground of an open plain. And the Kyuubi, slashing down towards Kushina.

_No, No, NO!_

Moving, moving, moving, faster than the Yellow Flash had ever moved before, Minato launched himself towards Kushina with hardly a concern for himself, sweeping her into his arms and launching up to the top of a nearby tree.

Registering and filing to the back of his mind the taunts of the assailant, Minato vanished, appearing again in the safehouse next to Naruto and Obito. He set Kushina down, next to their sons, and promised to return.

* * *

_Kushina_

Less than an hour later, Kushina woke from her short, desperately needed rest to the feeling of Minato's chakra. Without wasting a moment, Minato explained the situation, and Kushina nodded to him. Just as she began to feel Kurama's chakra outside, Minato was holding her and the twins, and then they too were outside.

Several shinobi including Hiruzen were doing their best to restrain the fox, but the hold was not strong enough. With what chakra she had left, Kushina released her chakra chains to restrain it.

"Minato. We don't have time! I don't have much chakra left, but I have enough for you to seal the beast back into me. Yes, I will die, but it will die with me. Our sons are safe and healthy, and I want them to stay that way." Kushina pleaded, believing this to be the only option.

"No! We can seal the Kyuubi into our sons. If I split its chakra, we can give half to each boy and they will be able to withstand the sealing."

"But, the technique you'd need to use - we can't let our boys grow up without either of us to look after them!"

"It's horrible, I know, but we can. I believe in them, in their future. And with this, we can seal our chakra into them as well, and watch over them as they grow up. Kushina, please, it's the best option."

Kushina breathed, and nodded. It was. Though politics and strategy came less easily to her than to Minato, she did understand at least that Konoha was better off with jinchuuriki than without. And the twins had Uzumaki blood, so they were well suited to hosting a tailed beast. It was a hard life, but it would be ok. She and Minato both knew the boys would be ok. And so, again, she nodded.

Painful as it was to watch, she observed as Minato drew the seals to summon the Shinigami, and heard Hiruzen gasp as it came and drew chakra out of the Kyuubi. Kushina knew that Hiruzen recognised this technique, probably shocked that Minato knew of it. And Kushina knew of it too. She watched, as Minato drew up the Eight Trigrams seal, and funelled the Kyuubi's yang chakra into Naruto's prone body. And then, the Shinigami began to draw out the Kyuubi's yin chakra, but the Kyuubi began to a body with the fox for so long, Kushina knew that Kurama was no fool, and wouldn't want to be sealed yet again.

As though there weren't enough sudden threats for one night, Kushina saw the fox speeding towards the twins. Without thinking, she leapt off the ground and vaulted at the fox. So did Minato. To their last moments, they truly worked well together. The two of them barely fended off the fox long enough for the yin chakra to flow into Obito. And Kushina noticed as she fell to the ground, how Obito's eyes were open, and how he seemed to be watching events unfold. The last thing Kushina felt was Minato drawing out her chakra, and infusing it into the seals of each of the twins.

Darkness.

* * *

_Minato_

Minato almost broke when he felt Kushina's life end. It hurt more than the keen awareness that his soul was being pulled, slowly, from his body, and that he wouldn't even get to pass on when he died. But, there was work to be done.

Minato looked to Hiruzen, who stood, shocked by the events that had just passed. He was so wrapped up in desperately DESPERATELY protecting his children that he wasn't sure when Hiruzen caught up. It couldn't have been long ago.

"Hiruzen, I need to ask you for one last favour. I don't have time to tell you everything. But please, don't let the village hate Naruto and Obito for the Kyuubi sealed within them. They've been forced into this from birth, and if anything they're heroes to the village, protecting them every living moment. Please, look after them. Make sure they grow up safe and happy." Towards the end, Minato began to pause between words, catching his breath and building his energy just enough to speak. His time was near.

Two figures landed suddenly beside Hiruzen. At this point, Minato couldn't even keep his eyes open. He could sense that this was the chakra of Jiraiya and Kakashi. With the last of his strength, he spoke his final words.

"Kakashi, Jiraiya. I know you have a lot going on, but both of you please, visit my sons and help look after them when you can."

Darkness.

* * *

_Uzumaki Obito_

I was conscious and aware following the events of my birth. There were lots of people moving, and talking, and I was moved around quite a bit. I couldn't understand what was happening because, lo and behold, I had no linguistic ability anymore. The best I could do was think with visualisations and feelings. So, my mind was pretty much just racing with fear and confusion. After a while, I felt something _HEAVY_ slam into my body, and then I blacked out.

* * *

 **Note:** I'll try and get the next chapter up soon (maybe today, or otherwise within a few days). It'll set the scene for the story. The first chapters were really just to introduce it and set everything up. The fun begins next chapter!


	3. Chapter 1: Growing Up

**Note:** Updated as of 26/05/2020. I've changed this chapter a bunch. I thought over it a little while after first publishing and realised it needed some fixing up. Fortunately, I've only posted 4 chapters so far, so there isn't too much to fix up!

* * *

_Obito_

The first few months of Obito's life was very, _very_ difficult. Having all of these complex thoughts and being unable to express them properly, even mentally, he was beginning to go just a _little_ bit crazy. He realised that he needed to figure out where he was, _who_ he was in this new life, and make a plan of action, but it was too hard when he couldn't think in words. The main thought that began to drive him through every day was the desperation for a language to speak, or at least think in. Fortunately, he had the physical brain of an infant, which meant he had a natural, neurological predisposition towards language acquisition. So he spent a lot of time listening to people talk, and smiling at people who talked to him to signal that he liked to hear them talk, and piecing together associations of words and meanings. On top of that, he was processing the fact that he had a twin brother. The other boy was very blonde, and Obito could swear he had lines on his cheeks that looked like whiskers. When he first made that realization, Obito's mind filled with images that roughly translated to "You have got to be fucking kidding me."

* * *

By about six months of age, Obito had the linguistic knowledge to think somewhat effectively. He couldn't really speak well, though he did impress the man who looked after the twins by babbling a few words here and there. Obito came to understand that this man's name was Genma and his own was Obito. Of course, he had already figured out his brother's name - Naruto. Even though he now had some words to think with, they weren't enough to work through the memories he had from a past life. Obito was aware that he had a past life - he was a teacher. He even knew all this stuff about Naruto - Obito could look at his infant twin brother and, by association of name and facial features, remember an incomplete lifelong set of information about the boy. Although Obito couldn't quite remember the context of those memories, he knew with certainty that they were memories. But he couldn't do much with them now. So, Obito decided to keep focusing on learning words.

Obito spent the next week on trying to figure out how to say one particular sentence to Genma: "I wanna speak". Once Obito managed to pull it off, Genma looked pretty shocked, but after that he spent time with both twins, trying to teach them lots of words through association. Obito soaked them up, but Naruto wasn't as interested, unable to sit still through it all. He still picked it up, and not long after he was talking too.

It did take infuriatingly long until Obito could actually speak proper sentences - even though for a normal baby it would have seemed pretty damn fast. Even for really smart kids who hit their developmental milestones early. But a month was a long time for Obito, who was mentally far older than the infant he appeared to be. So, there he was, 8 months old and speaking simple sentences, feeling very proud to have moved along on his all-consuming goal. Obito then became even more consumed by his quest to talk than before, if that was even possible.

* * *

At a year of age, Obito had the language skills to hold a conversation, but Naruto was still putting his sentences together, so Obito decided not to forge ahead further, for now. Something just felt _wrong_ about leaving his brother behind like that. Obito knew there was a Naruto just like this one who went through most of his childhood being left out, and so Obito just couldn't do that to him. Besides, this boy was beside him constantly for a whole year, and Obito couldn't help but grow attached. So, Obito relished in his ability to actually have words to express thoughts, but kept it to himself. Next, he started to focus on the world around him instead.

The twins were well looked after - Obito knew who his real (new) parents were because he knew about Naruto from _before -_ and they were gone. And Obito also remembered that the Naruto from _before_ grew up in an orphanage and was basically abused by the whole village. To Obito's relief, this was not the fate the twins were subjected to. Genma, who was around most of the time, was kind, and seemed invested in the boys. He treated them almost with reverence, and made sure they were happy. On occasion, though, Genma had to leave for days at a time. Obito recalled hearing something about 'missions'. At this point Obito had figured out by connecting the dots between his memories and what he heard and saw that Genma was a shinobi, and had to go off and work for Konoha every now and then.

Whenever Genma left, there was always someone else around with the twins. Sometimes, there was this teenager with grey hair named Kakashi who covered most of his face with a mask. For some reason, there was some nagging sense of familiarity, but Obito couldn't place it. Logically, he knew it meant he was probably important to either Naruto or Guy _before_ , but Obito just couldn't get any further than that. Kakashi tended to sit and watch over the boys - if Naruto tried to climb something dangerous, which he did a lot, Kakashi seemed to panic a bit and get Naruto back to the ground, but he didn't do much more than watch over quietly.

When it wasn't Kakashi, a woman named Mikoto came. She was kind to the boys, and she taught Obito new words every time she visited. As much as Genma cared about them, he didn't quite understand why Obito had this voracious appetite for new words. Obito couldn't exactly up and reveal 'Hey, I'm actually 30 years old but in the body of an infant, and I desperately want to put words to all my thoughts and memories'. But Mikoto seemed to treat this as completely normal. In fact, one of her two sons who sometimes came with her, Sasuke, liked to join in. But as much as he did, he enjoyed playing with Naruto and building towers out of whatever was within reach more. The older one, named Itachi, didn't come as often. Mikoto said that he was at the Academy, learning to become a shinobi.

One time when Itachi did come, Obito saw him doing something intriguing. He had these small pieces of paper on his palms, and without moving his palms at all, the papers were floating up into the air and back down to his palm. With Obito's knowledge of chakra, he could connect the dots and figure out that Itachi was training in chakra control - which reminded Obito of a thought he only had in images shortly after being reborn; He needs to practice chakra control lots. But, of course, Obito was just a child, barely past one year old. How would he know about that?

"Itachi, what are you doing?" Obito asked, as he crawled over to get a better look.

"I'm practicing controlling my chakra, so I can become a strong shinobi." Itachi responded plainly, and then tried to focus back to what he was doing. But if nothing else, Obito was persistent. After all, he did learn to speak properly by a year of age out of spite for not being able to put words to all his thoughts.

"Can I do that too?" Obito asked, faux-innocently. Mikoto must have heard, because she came over and took the boy's hand.

"Obito, one day I'm sure you'll be able to do that, but you're too young now. Chakra is a kind of energy that shinobi use, and you'll need to be a bit older before you can learn to use yours." Mikoto explained. Obito didn't quite want to leave it at that, though.

"When will Naruto and I be old enough to use chakra?" He asked, persisting so that he would have a plausible 'excuse' to get started.

Mikoto smiled. "Well, chakra is always inside you, and as you get older you'll have more of it. Once you can feel it, you can start learning to use it. For some kids, they only feel their chakra when they are five or six years old, and others can feel it when they're one or two. When you can feel yours, you should tell Genma and he can teach you how to use it."

Obito had to hand it to Mikoto. Very few people would accept that a kid so young could be smart enough to understand this stuff. Of course, he had an advantage of having lived another life and kind of remembering it, but to Mikoto, Obito must have just looked like a really smart kid. She wasn't new to raising such kids, after all. From what Obito saw, Sasuke was pretty clever, and so was Itachi.

Having gotten what he came for, Obito decided to sit back and watch as Itachi performed his training exercise, soaking in the scene and figuring out exactly what the older boy was doing.

And then Obito realised what he wanted to do next. He remembered all of this stuff about chakra, and it had to be for some reason. So, he would learn how to use it himself. Obito noticed that Naruto had stopped playing with Sasuke and was watching all of this too, and it looked like he also thought this chakra thing was really cool.

* * *

A few weeks after this conversation with Mikoto, Obito felt it. He was sure it had something to do with his unfair advanced knowledge about chakra, and the fact that he had been meditating on it constantly since that conversation.

After this, Obito spent the next few weeks teaching Naruto how to find his chakra. As soon as Obito mentioned that he could feel his own, Naruto decided that he would not give up until he could feel his too. It was a jarring process, because Naruto was in no way patient enough to sit down and focus for so long - after all, he was just a toddler. But, he got there in the end - after _many_ distractions.

* * *

The day after Naruto had become able to sense his own chakra, Genma came home from his mission, and Obito wasted no time. The twins were ready, waiting for him to come back from his most recent mission. "Gen, Naruto and I want to learn how to use chakra. Can you teach us? Mikoto told us to ask you when we could feel it, and we can!"

The poor man must have been exhausted, because he missed a step and nearly fell flat on the ground. "What makes you want to use chakra?"

"We wanna become shinobi like you, and Itachi!" Naruto declared.

"Alright, fine. But, first, you have to walk. Once you and Naruto can both walk upright, I'll teach you about chakra."

* * *

Six months later, we finally started learning about chakra with Genma. Naruto had learnt to walk first, he was always better when it came to anything physical. He was practically running by then, and yet it took focus for Obito to actually stay upright and move around. On the evening of the day they showed off their barely-stable walking to Genma, Obito heard him swearing to himself when he thought he was alone. "Bloody hell, I need Mikoto's help. I don't have a clue how she and Fugaku raised Itachi, and I have no bloody idea how to raise prodigies. A year and a half and they're walking and talking, and want to learn about chakra?"

* * *

More time passed, and before they knew it, the twins had turned three. They had many experiences over this time. It took a while, but they learned how to feel and use some of their chakra, and could sort of make a piece of paper stick onto their hands for a short amount of time. Obito was clearly doing better than Naruto at this, able to concentrate much better on what he was doing. The boys also went for walks with Genma in the village. Sometimes they went to a park to run around and play, and sometimes they would go to visit the Uchihas. The boys both definitely noticed that most people did not seem to like them. They tried to ask Genma why, but he always found some way to avoid answering that question. It was also around this time that an old guy who Genma called 'Hokage-sama' came to visit. He wanted to talk to Naruto and Obito, and see that they were doing well. He talked about shinobi, and asked if the twins wanted to be shinobi when they grew up, so that they could protect their precious people. Of course, Naruto bought into it completely, whereas Obito was a bit more skeptical. However, it was a good means to achieve his goals, so he joined in the enthusiasm. The Hokage told the boys about the Academy, and that when they were a few years older, they could go there and learn how to be shinobi.

* * *

A little bit after the boys turned four, Genma brought a new person home for them to meet.

"Naruto, Obito, come over here. I want to introduce you to someone!" Genma beckoned the twins over to the door, and we saw the tall man with blonde hair and piercing blue eyes. He had a soft smile on his face, but also looked a little bit nervous. "This is my boyfriend, Sora. He's going to come and live here with us soon, so I wanted you to get to know him a bit first."

Obito knew this was important. He remembered in his past life, acceptance being really, really important to him. In his old life, not everyone was so accepting of people who were outside of the 'norm', especially queer people. Obito was one of them then, and he would bet that he would be in his new life here. Obito had no idea whether or not it was normal and accepted here, but either way, this was a nice moment.

"Hi Sora, nice to meet you! You better look after Genma, he's a real klutz when he's tired." Obito smiled up to him, and both Genma and Sora seemed to remember to breathe.

A month later, Sora moved in.

* * *

Over the next couple of years, Naruto and Obito started showing their differences in personality more. Naruto was a little different to how Obito remembered him from _before_ , and Obito knew it was because he was raised by someone who actually cared about him. He was energetic, physical and impatient most of the time, and wanted more than anything else to spend time with people. He also couldn't stand the idea of either brother being left behind - anything Obito learned how to do, he had to learn as well, and whenever he learned something new, he dragged Obito along. Which meant when he figured out how to climb up trees, he made Obito join him even though the older twin didn't want to, and wasn't as strong either. It also meant that when Obito started learning how to read, Naruto had to as well. Thanks to Obito's unfair advantages, learning to read didn't take very long. By the time the boys were ready to start at the academy, Obito could read just about anything put in front of him, and he did. Naruto didn't read nearly as much, but he _could_ not long after Obito - except for the fact that he couldn't sit still for long. Obito remembered thinking in his past life that Naruto was actually pretty intelligent, he just didn't get a chance to develop his smarts until too late. Which, apparently, was right.

Unlike Naruto, Obito was much less physical. The older twin liked to read, and experiment with things. Mostly chakra, because he didn't have much else on hand to work with, but there was that one vinegar soda incident. _We do not talk about the vinegar soda incident._

* * *

By their first big day at the ever-exciting Academy, the twins were definitely ahead on the curriculum. They had enough chakra control to somewhat shakily and slowly walk up trees - only because they had spent _so_ much time practicing chakra control for the past three years. Obito had been reading books about history, some famous shinobi, and even one about ninjutsu theory. Naruto didn't read that stuff, but he loved hearing his brother tell him all of the 'cool' bits.

To help pass the time, Sora gave Obito a book about something called 'Fuinjutsu'. His exact words were "You're gonna be bored sometimes because you already know like half of the first year stuff, so this will be a good way to fill your time. Rumour has it the Uzumaki were once a big clan who were really good at Fuinjutsu, so maybe you'll have a knack for this!"

Naruto felt a bit left out by this, but Sora reminded him that he would probably just get bored of the book, and besides he didn't know as much of the academic stuff as Obito did, so he needed to pay attention. The line that everyone used to keep Naruto motivated was that 'every good shinobi has to know all these basics'. Obito doubted it would work.

The big day was tomorrow, and Obito don't remember getting much sleep. He loved schooling - he was a teacher in my past life, and he loved every minute of it. Obito was really excited to be in that environment again, even if the learning itself wasn't so thrilling.

* * *

 **Note:** I hope this was a fun read - at first I thought I would draw out the pre-academy childhood into a couple of chapters, but it felt more natural to move through it. Anyway, the academy arc will be at least several chapters, I have big, fun and somewhat sciency plans for this. I also was considering developing even more of a basis for Obito being a scientist at heart in this chapter, but as I'm discovering it's tricky to write about twins because I want to develop Obito but I don't want to leave Naruto behind - and when they're growing up and together basically all of the time, I found it hard to write this in more than I did.

I also feel a bit weird about it, so if you have any thoughts on anything from the writing style to the story progression please leave a review!


	4. Chapter 2: Academy Beginnings Part 1

**AN:** Still in the process of updating to switch from first to third person - apologies for the cringe over the next few chapters.

* * *

_The morning of the Academy Commencement Ceremony_

My day started with the sound of Naruto shouting at the top of his lungs.

"Obitoooooo WAKE UUUUUUUUUPPPPPPPPPPPP!"

Groggily, I stumbled out of my bed, and looked over at the clock, realising that I had slept in, which was rare. Muttering a tired word of thanks to my brother, I went to the bathroom to wash my face with cold water. There was some success in using the cold water to shock myself into alertness. I scrambled back to my room to get dressed, my outfit already laid out for me. I smiled to myself and thought back to the rather entertaining day I acquired the clothes I would wear today.

* * *

_Two weeks ago_

A couple weeks ago, Genma and Sora took the two of us out shopping for clothes. Apparently, if we were going to be academy students we needed to look the part. Naruto and I were both a bit hesitant to go, because usually when we came along for shopping, we got kicked out of stores or made to pay extra. I knew why, but it was one of those things that I needed to pretend to not understand - after all, how could I possibly know that Naruto was host to the Kyuubi?

Still, we agreed after both Sora and Genma continually insisted that it would be fine, the place we were going wouldn't be like any of the other stores - and so we went. We arrived in front of a store with a sign on it that read 'Higarashi's Armoury'. When we walked in, we were greeted by a rather short man with neatly tied back dark hair. Looking closer, I could see that his small frame hid incredibly well defined musculature. He had a tense look on his face as we walked in, but before I could begin to worry he would send us out, I realised that the look was directed at Genma.

"Shiranui, how _wonderful_ to see you. I trust that you're here to shop for these boys with you?" The man spoke with a very obviously fake friendliness - clearly something had happened between Genma and this man.

"Higarashi, it's been a while! Relax, relax, I am in fact here for the kids. I'm not after any of your blades today." Genma replied, raising his hands in a pacifying gesture.

"Good. Kids, welcome to my store. Before you buy anything, there are three things you need to know. Firstly, the weapons I make are the best in Konoha. Anyone tells you otherwise, you have my permission to laugh in their face, because they're kidding themselves. Second, you need anything fixed and you come see me. Third, you mess with anyone in my family," Higarashi _glared_ at Genma, "you pay double price, or you buy somewhere else."

I looked inquisitively at Genma, as if to ask what the story was.

"Ahaha, I'll tell you two that story when you're older. But Higarashi speaks true on all counts. Not only does he stock the best weapons, his prices are also the fairest. And on top of that, he also stocks a variety of shinobi apparel made by a relative of his. This is basically a one-stop shop for most shinobi gear." Genma looked a bit flushed.

I was relieved to notice that none of the ire directed at Genma made it to Naruto or myself - clearly this man had no qualms with the child host of the Kyuubi, unlike most of the village. We spent the next hour both picking outfits that were practical, and touring the shop, so we would know our way around when we needed other supplies. Naruto tried to pick out this hideous orange jumpsuit that seemed unfortunately familiar, but thankfully Sora stepped in and laid down an ultimatum, on the basis that such an outfit would make any shinobi an easily spotted target. In the end, Naruto gave in and settled for something more toned down.

Once we had picked out our clothes, Genma asked Higarashi if he could have the emblem of the Uzumaki clan added to the clothing. It was, after all, a village custom to wear clothing that identified one's clan, should they belong to one. We then paid, and left the clothing behind - Higarashi told us that they would be delivered to us within the week when they were ready.

* * *

_The morning of the Academy Commencement Ceremony_

I looked at my black outfit, pleased. It wasn't something that stood out, but it looked decent and seemed to make a good combination with my mess of red hair. Hearing Naruto shouting at me again, I realised I was lost in thought and really did need to get a move on - I quickly dressed myself and ran down the stairs to get some food. A ration bar in hand, Naruto shuttled me out the door, and we were on our way. Sora and Genma came along, both excited to see us off for our first day.

I looked over at my brother, and was once again relieved he didn't get to buy that orange jumpsuit. He was wearing a light olive green top, with dark brown shorts. His blonde hair was somehow incredibly messy, despite being so short. He was in good cheer, and seemed excited to move forward in his path to becoming a shinobi.

On our way, we crossed paths with Mikoto and her husband Fugaku, as well as Sasuke, who was starting at the Academy as well, in the same class as us. Sasuke seemed to be at a similar place emotionally to Naruto, and the two fell in step, chattering about what they thought would happen today. I followed behind them, finishing my ration bar breakfast and pulling out my Fuinjutsu book to read as I walked.

When we arrived outside the Academy building, I put my book away into my satchel and took a look around. I saw lots of parents and siblings milling about and socialising, while their kids ran around in groups. There were also scatterings of kids standing on the sides, out of the way. It was clear that there were groups of kids who were friends from before, and many more who didn't know anyone else. I figured that would mostly change as time went on. I also noticed, unsurprisingly, that people moved away as we approached. Genma looked ready to take a crack at them all, but I noticed Sora put a hand on his shoulder, which seemed to pacify him for the moment.

Not long after that, a family approached us, two of whom had some resemblance to Sora. The apparent father waved to us.

"Sora! It's been a while! You ought to come visit more often!" The man said.

"Ah, Inoichi. I'm sorry, you're right. It must have been a while, Ino seems so grown up now. Starting at the academy already!" Sora responded, looking down at the girl Ino, who smiled back at him.

"Indeed, they grow up so fast. I still remember your first day. Rather memorable, since that was the first and last time I ever saw your mother break into tears. Aunt Inoue had to be the most composed woman I've ever known, so that was something..." Inoichi seemed lost in thought for a moment, and then snapped back to attention. "Genma, glad to see you're looking well. Now, I don't believe we've met your young ones yet!"

"Yes, allow me to introduce you to Naruto and Obito." Sora signalled to each of us on saying our names. "Naruto, Obito, this is my cousin Inoichi. He's actually the Yamanaka clan head! Also, his wife Mayu, who taught me everything I know about swordsmanship, and their daughter Ino. I hope you'll get along well with her!"

While we were becoming acquainted with Sora's relatives, the Uchihas had politely excused themselves to have a family moment before the ceremony began. When introductions were finished, we followed Ino off. Before she could introduce us to her friends, a loud voice called out for the new students to gather in, so the ceremony could begin. Standing on a podium in front of us was a kindly-looking old man who I recognised as the Hokage, who came to visit us a few years ago. He seemed to spot us amongst the crowd of children, which probably wasn't that hard given my distinctive red hair. He smiled at us, and then looked across the group of new students, and began speaking.

"Welcome, students, to the Konoha Shinobi Academy. You're all here to begin your journeys as shinobi of our village. The years ahead will not be easy, but I hope you will give your best efforts to learn and become fine young shinobi." The Hokage continued speaking for a few minutes, with motivational words about how many of the fine shinobi of Konoha started out here just like us. He spoke of the Will of Fire that binds Konoha together - how we protect and support one another.

After the Hokage's speech, we were led away from our family members, into the academy. As we walked, I tried to ignore the glares Naruto and I were definitely receiving from many adults, and even some of the kids. We were directed into a classroom and told to take our seats. The classroom was divided up into three seater tables. Naruto and I went and found a table with Sasuke towards the front of the classroom. The three of us were eager to learn, and wanted to be in a good position to do so. Once everyone had found a seat, the man who guided us to the classroom stepped to the front and spoke.

"I am Umino Iruka, and beside me is Hiyoshi Mizuki. We will be teaching most of you over the next six years. Why only most? Some of you will drop out. Becoming a shinobi is is no easy task, and not everyone is cut out for it. Occasionally, a student or two proves exceptionally capable and is permitted to move ahead, so they can graduate in a shorter time. The rest of you better get used to us, because you'll be seeing our faces a lot."

I observed the two men before us. I noticed that Iruka's face had a scar running diagonally across it. Clearly he had seen his fair share of action. Mizuki didn't really stand out, he was just smiling and trying to look friendly.

"Now, you're all here because you want to become shinobi. As you've already heard numerous times this morning, the road to becoming a shinobi is not easy. You will need to study hard and train harder. Over these six years, you will learn many things. You will learn to fight as shinobi do, which no doubt many of you are looking forward to. You will also study." Iruka placed emphasis on the last word, and many of my classmates groaned. "Yes, you will have to study. There are many things that ninja need to know, and your survival will one day depend on it. For example, you may one day end up on a missing in the deserts of the Land of Wind. If you want to survive those deserts, you will need to know how to find water and food. We will teach you how to survive, how to conduct yourselves on missions, and how to work together as a team."

Iruka paused, allowing us all to take in everything he had told us.

"Now, I want to start off our class with a question. So, why do you want to become a shinobi?"

For a moment there was silence. And then,

"I wanna be awesome strong, spit fire and beat up the bad guys!" Some kid shouted.

"Nobody in my family has been a shinobi before, so I want to make them all proud!" Another spoke.

"I want to become someone who can protect those who are important to me, and then raise the next generation well. I also want to learn how to heal people, and look after the sick and injured." I called out.

Next, a quiet voice from somewhere behind me stammered out an answer. "I w-w-want to be-become an amazing kunoichi like T-tsunade-sama."

Responses went on for a little while, until Iruka said he would hear one more before we move on.

"Alright, quiet down everyone, let's move on now." Iruka-sensei shouted, regaining control of the class.

"Now, we're going to begin with the history of Konoha..." Iruka-sensei lectured on for half an hour, and even I dozed off a bit. In fairness, I did already know most of this from my books. Naruto started drawing in his notebook, and Sasuke was practicing some sequences of hand signs under the desk.

As I tried and failed to stay focused, it struck me as a little crazy that they would throw six year olds into a classroom, make them sit through lectures and make notes. I would never expect a six year old to learn from this. Even though Iruka looked like he knew what he was doing, he was probably just teaching what he had to teach. What a shame.

When the class finished, Iruka and Mizuki had us get up and directed us to a training field outside.

"Alright everyone. Welcome to Taijutsu class." Mizuki announced. "Since it's your first day, before we start we want to do a little fitness test. Any good shinobi, no matter their specialisation, has to have good stamina. So, we're going to do 5 laps of this running track, and time you. The last person to finish will have to sit out and miss the first Taijutsu lesson, so don't let that be you!"

 _How ridiculous,_ I thought, _You're going to punish the person with the worst stamina by taking away an opportunity to improve?_

I knew better than to argue on that, but I had a better idea in mind.

On cue, we all set off. Naruto and Sasuke took the lead, putting themselves quite far ahead of the rest. Everyone else moved at a jog. I jogged with the main pack for the first lap. There were a few students lagging behind the group. In particular was one boy with dark brown hair tied up into a short spiky tail at the back, who looked like he was only half-awake. I didn't think it was fair that someone who just wasn't as well trained should have to miss out on the lesson, so I planned to finish last on purpose. I pretended that I as running out of breath and slowed down, matching pace for a while with the boy at the back. After a lap jogging slowly alongside him, I realised he wasn't breathing heavily at all.

"You're not out of breath at all, why are you so far behind?" I asked.

"Are you kidding? The person who finishes last gets to skip the taijutsu class. Exercise is troublesome, I don't wanna do it." The boy responded.

"You want to be a shinobi without exercising?" I shot back.

"Sure. I'll be fine, I just wanna be an average shinobi, not anything special."

"I see."

"So why are you pretending to be out of breath?" The boy asked me in return.

"Well, I thought that there would probably be someone who was just really unfit, and I didn't want them to miss the first lesson. I've been learning taijutsu at home for a while now, so I figured I could miss a bit and be fine. I didn't think that there would be someone lazy enough to fall behind even those people like you. Anyway, I guess I don't need to finish last now. I'll see you around! I'm Obito, by the way. What's your name?"

"Shikamaru. See you later."

With that, I ran ahead at a decent pace, making it towards the middle of the class by the end of the last lap. I didn't want to miss out on a class for Shikamaru, who didn't really seem to care, but this way he would get an earful and the teachers wouldn't let this happen again. They definitely noticed what was going on, seeing me lag behind as though out of breath and then run fast enough to make it to the middle of the class after chatting with him. As expected, Mizuki went to talk to Shikamaru, and soon after he came to join the taijutsu class, much to his dismay.

Through the class, both of our teachers demonstrated a simple kata that Naruto and I had learnt long ago. They spent much of the lesson making sure that those in the class who had not had any formal training were able to perform the sequences on their own, whilst the rest of us were made to repeat the motions we were well versed in. Finally, the lesson ended and we were sent off for lunch. We were told that we had an hour, and we needed to stay on the academy premises, whether inside or outside. Naruto, Sasuke and I slowly meandered back towards our classroom, where we had left our belongings.

Once we had our bags, we raced to find ourselves a less crowded space to eat. We moved towards a little nook I'd spotted on our way back from class, just behind the main building, to find a group of kids seeming to gang up on one girl from our class.

* * *

 **28/05/20:** Updated - rewrote the very end because I thought it was a bit sloppy. Still feels kinda clunky but better than before, at least.


	5. Chapter 3: Academy Beginnings Part 2

The sight that greeted us at our intended lunch spot was nothing short of ludicrous. On day one, a group of kids from our class, ganging up on another kid from our class. The bullying itself was ridiculous enough, but the fact that they thought that they would get away with it in a _shinobi academy_ in the _village preaching the Will of Fire_ , was just stupid.

As we arrived on scene, I heard one of them mentioning something about the girl's 'weird eyes', and getting aggressive. I didn't really want to get into a fight on the first day, but I also didn't want to just let this stand.

When I saw the girl they were picking on, things fell into place. One of the books I had read recently was about the history of Konoha's main clans. In it, was a drawing of the Hyuuga clan's Byakugan eyes, alongside some explanation of the eyes' function. There was also something I remembered from the book about the clan being split into a main and branch house, and that members of the branch house were given some kind of forehead seal early in childhood.

What I saw on this girl's forehead was the _absence_ of a seal. These kids were picking on the heir to the Hyuuga clan. Noticing Naruto looking ready to charge, I put a hand out in his way. I quickly thought through my options before dealing with this situation. I could play the clan card and try and explain to these kids that things would not end well if they hurt the heir apparent of the most powerful clan in Konoha. But that would just create a class divide and build more resentment. Ideally, I wanted to pacify this in a way that left nobody with a new enemy.

"Let me try deal with this without starting a fight. If it doesn't work, let's show them why you don't bully others!" I whispered to him and Sasuke, and then called out to the group of bullies. "Oi, what do you think you're doing?"

The kids turned to face us.

"Hey, you should really think before you try and pick on others, especially at the Academy." I said calmly, trying to pacify the situation.

"Oh yeah? Whatcha gonna do about it? You think you can take us?" One of the kids taunted. There were four of them, and four of us if you included the Hyuuga girl. Not that it mattered, I didn't think it would come to that.

"Maybe, maybe not. But it doesn't matter if _we_ can take you. If you pick this fight, then you four will have just made four new enemies on your first day at the academy. Sure, if you really don't like us you might do it. But you don't have to pick a fight. Those eyes that you called weird are something that people in the Hyuuga clan have. They're incredibly useful, and you'd be lucky to have someone like her on your team when you're out on a mission, because she might well save your life with those eyes! So look, why don't you just apologise and we can all put this behind us, and work together to become strong shinobi who can all look out for one another, hey?" I put my hands out in that same pacifying gesture that I saw Genma use when we went shopping, hoping it would help. I knew my argument was strong, but these were a bunch of six year old kids so there was no telling if it would work or not.

It didn't. One of the other bullies spoke up, saying "And why should we trust you? When my parents saw you this morning they said that I should stay away from you, because you'd just hurt me! Besides, what sort of normal person has red hair like that? You must be some kinda freak too!"

 _Oh bloody hell._ I thought to myself, realizing that this was not going to end peacefully. I knew I wasn't the best fighter but Naruto and Sasuke were both much better than me, and all three of us had much more training than the average student on their first day at the academy.

"Alright Naruto, let's try this your way then." I conceded.

The fight was messy, at best. Training or no, a bunch of first day academy students trying to knock each other out was always just going to end up a poorly coordinated tangle of limbs. Eventually, though, the group of bullies realised we were better fighters than them and we weren't showing any signs of giving up, so they ran off.

"You ok?" Naruto called out to the Hyuuga girl.

The poor girl looked mortified at first, and then confused. Then she noticed the fresh bruises all three of us were now sporting. "I'm s-sorry! I'm so weak and useless th-that you three went and got hurt instead!"

"Oh come off it! First of all, you did nothing to deserve the way they were treating you." I looked the girl in the eyes, and put a hand on her shoulder. "This is _not_ your fault. You hear me? Not your fault."

The girl didn't seem convinced. The self-esteem issues were strong in this one.

"Look, if you're really convinced you did something wrong, how about you pay us back then?" I offered.

Sasuke stared at me in shock. "Obito, what are you saying?"

"You can pay us back by coming to have lunch with us, and being our friend. I don't know about my brother and friend here, but since it's my first day I really want to make some new friends!" I declared, hoping my attempt at forceful kindness would pay off.

"Ok..." Hinata conceded, realising that I wouldn't give up on this.

"Obito, you have a ridiculous way of going about these things..." Naruto complained, and then promptly dropped his butt to the ground and pulled out his lunch.

The rest of us followed suit, sitting and digging into our various home-cooked meals. We stayed to chat for the whole lunch break. We learnt that our new friend's name was Hinata, and we introduced ourselves in turn.

"Say Hinata, you were the one this morning who said you wanted to be like the Sannin Tsunade, right?" I asked, trying to involve Hinata more in our conversations.

"Yes, but I'm never really going to be as good as her..." She frowned.

"How are you so sure? You can't give up before you even try! Just... don't give up! Ok?" Naruto exclaimed, not sure how else to encourage her.

At this point, I figured we wouldn't make much more progress in such short time. We went back to complaining about how boring the first lesson was, and Hinata sat in silence. When the lunch break ended, we all headed back to our classroom together.

The rest of the day's lessons were dull at best. I could barely stay focused, and that was saying something because mentally, I was an adult. I felt bad for all the other kids in the class, totally understanding when they began feeling restless and becoming disruptive.

At the end of the day, we said our goodbyes to our new friend Hinata, and set off to go home. Not ten paces from the entrance to the Academy, we were ambushed by Genma, who decided to drop out of a tree right in front of where we were walking.

"Genma!" Naruto exclaimed.

"So, how was your first day?" Genma asked.

"Terrible" "Boring" Naruto and I spoke at the same time, barely just not in sync due to our choices of words.

"Really? You were so excited this morning. What happened?"

As we walked home, Naruto and I told Genma about everything that happened through the day, and Genma seemed to get progressively more angry as we spoke.

"Genma, are you ok?" I asked, noticing that his face was scrunched up in an intense look of inner conflict.

"Yeah. I've just decided I'm overdue for a reunion with my old genin team, so I'm going to invite them over for dinner tonight, if they're free. I was just hoping I could go longer without a particular one of them knowing where I live, because it's just.. So peaceful.. Without him hanging around all the time like he used to. You'll know what I mean when you meet him, just promise you won't say I said any of this to you!"

"Of course, but if you don't want this person to know where you live, why have the reunion at home?" I asked.

"Well, I want them to meet you two. I've just had a clever idea..." Genma trailed off, returning to his deep thought and grinning worrisomely.

_Oh no... I sense a helicopter parent. Why do I feel like Naruto and I just instigated a revolution?_


	6. Chapter 4: Time for a Revolution? Part 1

When we got home, Genma left us with Sora, who we also regaled with our tales from the day. By the time we had finished telling him everything, Genma returned, carrying bags full of groceries.

"Alright, boys, we're having guests tonight! Naruto and Obito, you can go and rest. Sora, will you help me prepare the food?" Genma said, his voice sounding strangely resolute.

"Uh, can't we help chop vegetables or something?" I offered.

"No need!" Genma responded.

I looked at the volume of food that Genma had brought home. "But... The sun is setting, how do you expect to get everything ready on time between just the two of you."

Before Genma could even answer... No, he didn't even try to answer. I heard what sounded like shouting and some sort of stampede draw closer, and closer, and then suddenly everything went green.

"Ah, Guy, right on time. You're probably going to eat the most, so get in here and help us chop." Genma said.

Before I had the time to process the strange scenario unfolding, including the fact that this was _Might Guy_ , a knife soared through the air at Guy, proceeded by a series of vegetables. Then, things got very loud, and before long the vegetables were all cut.

 _Does he work this hard at everything?_ I mused to myself, and then left to my room to continue working my way through my fuinjutsu book.

The book was certainly fascinating, and also difficult. There was a lot of mathematics involved, and I may have once been a science teacher but apparently content knowledge on the many subjects I was once familiar with were no longer stored in my brain. And so, I had to work through the book as best I could, and once I had re-learned enough mathematics I could go over it again. Even for lack of requisite knowledge, the ideas seemed to make some sense.

* * *

An hour or so passed by, and I snapped back into awareness of the world around me when Naruto barged in, soaked through with sweat. "Dinner... soon... gotta... clean up..." He panted, squeezing out the words between breaths.

"What happened to you?" I asked, amused, but I think I knew what happened. "You know what? You can tell me after you go shower, you stink!"

While Naruto showered, I washed my face and got changed into some clean clothes, and went downstairs to meet our guests.

Genma and Sora seemed to be just finishing up with the food preparation. Sitting on stools next to the kitchen benchtop and chatting amongst themselves were Guy, and another shinobi I hadn't seen before. The man who introduced himself as Ebisu was wearing the standard Konoha blues, with a hitai-ate worn like a bandanna and tinted round glasses covering his eyes.

"Ah, you must be Obito? Genma has been telling us quite the stories about you." Ebisu greeted, smiling congenially.

"Yes yes, I hear that you can already tree-walk? Impressive, your youthfulness is powerful indeed!" Guy praised. I noted that he wasn't shouting. "I don't believe we've properly met yet. I'm Might Guy."

"Nice to meet you, Ebisu and Guy. Yes, I'm Obito. Naruto will be along soon, he's just getting cleaned up. He seemed to have worked up quite the sweat?"

 _So this is the calmer side of Konoha's Green Beast, huh?_ I thought. From what I remembered from my past life about Guy, it did make sense that he didn't always go around screaming, and had a more composed side to himself. After all, you don't become an S-Ranked shinobi by being a muscle headed idiot. Though I didn't remember much about the Naruto series from in my past life, I do remember that Guy had been one of my favourite characters, simply because he was hard-working, kind and pretended to be a fool but was certainly quite clever.

"Naruto is youthful indeed! We trained outside for an hour, and after some light exercise I showed him some ways to improve his punching technique. He's quite an attentive student, I must say! If he or you wishes to train with me again, you need but ask!" Guy remarked, seeming very pleased.

"Wow, really? Naruto seemed really happy, despite how out of breath he was, so I'm sure he would love to train more with you, and I would love to join in as well. Thanks, Guy!" I beamed, in part acting the child they thought I was, but also genuinely keen to have Might Guy's training. I didn't expect to become a taijutsu expert of any kind, but I wouldn't say no to the benefits I could reap from Guy's kind of training, as difficult as it would be.

"Impressive that he had the stamina to keep up, from what little I saw when I arrived." Ebisu said. "I must say, Guy, you've become a great teacher. You should consider taking on a genin team some day."

"Ebisu, you are too kind. And too modest, for I am only a wonderfully youthful teacher because I have learnt alongside the most youthful teacher of all!" Guy gave a thumbs up to Ebisu, who flushed a little from the praise, but regained his composure.

Naruto emerged from upstairs, no longer reeking of sweat and now dressed in clean clothes.

"Naruto, just in time. Will you come help me set the dining table?" Genma requested.

Naruto and I did as asked, setting up the table for our meal, and putting out the numerous delicious-looking dishes too. We all took seats around the table, and Naruto and Ebisu were introduced to one another.

"So, you guys were on a genin team together, right? What was Genma like back then?" Naruto asked, smiling cheekily as he fished for fun stories about our adoptive father.

"Well, Genma was actually the level head of our team. Very little could get him worked up, and he was always ready to take the lead if we got ourselves in a difficult situation and didn't know what to do. There was only one thing that could break our Genma's composure..." Ebisu explained, smirking towards the end.

"Ebisu, come on. Really?" Genma moaned, and went a bit red.

"Yes, it was Genma's first youthful love!" Guy laughed.

"Oh? I have to hear about this!" Sora chimed in. "Go on, Ebisu?"

"Well, let's go to the start of this story. When we were genin, we sometimes trained and did missions together with other genin teams. There was this one team - it was Hatake Kakashi-" Ebisu began telling the story, but Naruto interrupted.

"Oooh? Kakashi? When you're done with this story, you gotta tell us what he was like back then too!" Naruto interrupted. "Oh, sorry! Go on?"

"So this team had Kakashi, who was actually a chunin already then, and they also had a girl named Noharu Rin and your namesake," Ebisu looked at me, "Uchiha Obito. But most important to this story was their Jonin sensei, Namikaze Minato - more famously known as the Fourth Hokage. See, our calm and composed Genma fell in love with Minato at first sight! He practically followed the poor guy around like a lost puppy."

We all laughed.

"I was just a kid back then, it was just admiration! You gotta admit, the guy was pretty cool." Genma defended, flushing more.

"No, I think it's sweet - it shows that you've always had good taste!" Sora teased.

"Well, you did spend a good deal of your shinobi career following after him - though the motivation certainly made you strong. Did you know that Genma was one of the Fourth's three elite guards?" Ebisu asked, now genuinely praising Genma.

"Wow, amazing!" Naruto praised.

 _That's pretty impressive,_ I thought, _you have to be pretty amazing to be chosen to guard a Hokage._

"Genma, how about Guy and Ebisu? What were they like?" I asked.

"Well, Guy wasn't actually as 'youthful' as he is now for a while, believe it or not. This story starts with Guy's late father, Might Duy. Duy had a nickname all throughout Konoha, the 'Eternal Genin'. Throughout Duy's whole shinobi career he couldn't manage a promotion from genin. So loads of people just thought he was some really weak failure. But he was really optimistic, always encouraging Guy to work really hard, and if they trained enough they could both become powerful taijutsu users." Genma began.

"Duy always encouraged Guy, saying that if he worked hard enough he would certainly be a great shinobi. Guy certainly did work hard, but we knew he didn't really believe in his father's words. Can you imagine Guy thinking that he would never become a particularly good Shinobi? Those were different times..."

"Guy actually failed the entrance exam, because he had absolutely no talent in ninjutsu or genjutsu. But despite that he managed to make an impression on Kakashi's father, who had some influence with the Academy, and he was allowed to join anyway. In fact, not only did he manage to join without passing the entrance requirements, he graduated at age 7! The rest of us were all 10 when we graduated, so it's really impressive."

"So during the war, we were attacked by Kirigakure's Seven Swordsmen. They're a group of Kirigakure's seven most powerful swordsmen, and they wield powerful weapons that have been passed down for generations. They were considered to be the strongest shinobi in Kirigakure, and were powerful enough to bring down a country, if just the seven of them worked together."

"Now, we were just three young teenagers then. Guy and I were Chunin, and Ebisu was still a genin. There was no way we were going to survive that encounter. But that's when Duy showed up. If not for Duy, none of us would be alive today. See, Duy wasn't doing nothing all those years of being a genin. He was training incredibly hard, and became able to use a technique called the Eight Gates, a powerful technique that requires an absurd amount of training to use."

"Anyway, we were attacked by the Seven Swordsmen, and then Duy showed up. Duy managed to open all of the Eight Gates, which only a few people have ever managed to do, and bought us time to escape. Unfortunately Duy did not survive, but we heard afterwards that he managed to take down four of the Seven Swordsmen, whilst fighting all seven of them at once! And since then, Guy became the person you see before you, who runs around everywhere shouting about the 'springtime of youth'."

"Woah! This Eight Gates thing sounds really cool!" Naruto beamed. "What about Ebisu, what was he like?"

"Well, that's a much easier story to tell. Ebisu was a total nerd. And nothing's changed since!" Genma teased.

Naruto laughed. "Sounds just like Obito! Maybe you two will get along!"

"Say what you want, Genma, I take it as a compliment." Ebisu retorted.

"Nah, I'm just kidding. We love you Ebisu!" Genma fake-cheered. "Anyway, so Ebisu used to be a huge stickler for the rules everything had to be done just so. Our sensei, Akamichi Choza, didn't need to teach us how to write our mission reports properly when we started out, because Ebisu would always lecture us about it non-stop. He was always trying to teach us these various things about rules, how to 'properly' use hand-signs to channel chakra in the best way, and whatever else. And he was awful at it. He tried to explain things but it just never really made much sense, and we always ended up really pissed off about something or another."

"But that all changed when we started training with other teams. Have you boys heard anything about a person named Orochimaru?" Genma asked.

To nobodies surprise, simultaneously Naruto exclaimed "Nope, who's that?" and I said "Yes".

"Isn't Orochimaru a Sannin? But he's a missing nin who betrayed the village, right?" I asked.

"Yes, that's right. Nobody seems to know what caused it, but something in him changed and he did some awful things. But before that, Orochimaru was an incredible shinobi who cared deeply about Konoha. Orochimaru had his own genin team at one point, but also helped train many others. I think that without Orochimaru's training, Konoha may not have fared so well in the war. So, as I said before, Ebisu was the last of us to become a chunin. A little while after both Guy and I had managed our promotions, Ebisu was starting to get frustrated, because he didn't really understand why he was having so much trouble passing the exams. So, Orochimaru came along and took Ebisu on a month long training trip outside of the village. When Ebisu came back, he was a changed person. He wasn't such a stickler for the rules, and his fighting style became a force to be reckoned with."

"When he came back from this trip, Ebisu asked to spar with me and Guy, one at a time. We were both chunin then, and Ebisu was still just a genin. Of course, we wanted to help our teammate become stronger and become a chunin like us, so we were more than happy to help him train. But he absolutely mopped the floors with us. And what was the most terrifying, was that he did it only using three E-ranked ninjutsu techniques - the Clone technique, the Substitution technique and the Transformation technique."

"It took us months to finally convince Ebisu to tell us what had happened on that training trip with Orochimaru. But, I think Ebisu could tell this part of the story better. Ebisu?" Genma finished, and passed the story-telling on to Ebisu.

"Alright. So Orochimaru took me out to a forest further out in the Fire Nation, and had me do all sorts of training. At first, we were sparring. Orochimaru told me that he could defeat me using only the Substitution technique. He said that he would use only that technique - no other ninjutsu, no genjutsu, no taijutsu, nothing. Just the substitution technique. I must admit I was much more stuck up then - and in fact I was almost offended by this. After all, I had thought that the substitution technique was purely an evasive technique. And, it is. I accepted this challenge from Orochimaru, and did everything that I could to defeat him. And I lost." Ebisu recounted.

"Whaaaat? How?" Naruto shouted, totally enthralled by the story.

"Well, it's all a matter of being creative. Back then, I was so by the books that every technique I used, I would use just for its original purpose. Substitution, for example, I used to escape attacks. I used the clone technique for basic distractions and diversion. Something like a Doton wall, I would use only to block strikes. Orochimaru was able to find countless ways to injure me with just the substitution technique. This ranged from more obvious things such as baiting me into thinking that I had him cornered against a tree, and then using a substitution at the last moment to avoid as I punched a tree, to more unexpected things like using a series of substitutions that resulted in a log falling on me from above."

"For the rest of that week, Orochimaru gave me all sorts of tasks to complete, such as hunting for food, travelling to a nearby object and stealing back a particular object they had placed in somebody's home, amongst other tasks. But each time, Orochimaru instructed me to only use a certain set of techniques. I was forced to come up with creative solutions. That training trip taught me that thinking in terms of rules is incredibly limiting, and that by instead considering all that which is possible, I could achieve so much more. I did not go to attempt the chunin exams after this for a few years, because instead I decided to focus on improving my creativity."

When Ebisu finished, I was incredibly impressed. And then, afraid. Very, _very_ afraid.

"Hold on... This Orochimaru is the same one that betrayed our village?" I asked, practically shaking.

"Yes, that's right. Obito, what's wrong?" Sora asked, noticing my change in behaviour.

"Well, from the story you've just told, Orochimaru sounds like an incredibly dangerous enemy for the village to have. Why shouldn't I be afraid?" I shouted. I realised that I was acting out and took a breath, and then apologised.

"No, you're right. Orochimaru is very dangerous. But the thing about the Sannin is that they are all very powerful. And even though Jiraiya and Tsunade are both gone from Konoha, they both care a lot about this village, and if Orochimaru tried to attack, they would come to defend us. Remember, they spent more time with Orochimaru than anyone, and they understand how Orochimaru thinks." Ebisu reassured me.

I breathed, and calmed down. Ebisu was right.

"Anyway, you should have seen what happened when Ebisu finally took the chunin exams again. Ebisu was the only one who was promoted from that exam. He so severely decimated all of the other applicants that none of them got a chance to demonstrate their skills. Honestly, they should have just promoted him without the exam. It was just sad to watch..." Genma laughed.

It was nice to see these three getting together like this, they clearly knew each other well and enjoyed each others' company a lot.

As the food was being steadily depleted, with Naruto and Guy seemingly competing to eat the most, Genma turned to me. "Say, Obito, why don't you tell Ebisu and Guy about your first day at the Academy?" I saw a strange glint in Genma's eye. _The revolution is coming, and it's going to be all my fault. Excellent._

So, I told them about everything that happened, ensuring to not miss a detail about the classes themselves, and the way our teachers taught. After all, I was a teacher myself in a past life, and a good one at that. I had dealt with parents enough to know what Genma was trying to achieve here - it was pretty clear. And so, I provided the ammunition. After all, if somebody could improve our Academy experience to make it more worthwhile, why shouldn't I clear a path for that person?

I saw Ebisu's eyes narrow several times through my recollection of the day. Genma noticed too.

"So, my teammates, is it time for Team Choza to come back together and take on our next mission together?" Genma asked?

"I'm in if Ebisu is in." Guy affirmed, looking serious.

Ebisu didn't speak for a while, seemingly lost in thought.

"... Alright." Ebisu agreed.

I took this as my cue. "Hey, Naruto, we should probably head to sleep. After all, we have our next big day at the academy tomorrow! Goodnight everyone. Guy, Ebisu, it was lovely to meet you both!"

"What? I wanna stay and hear about this mission!" Naruto complained, but I didn't even give him a chance. Before he even finished his complaint I had dragged him away, and led him up the stairs to our room.


	7. Chapter 5: Time for a Revolution? Part 2

**AN:** This is pretty darn fun to write. That said, I'm not very experienced so if anyone has any suggestions, feel free to write a review! Also, if there was anything that you've ever thought "Damn, they *really* should have taught that in the Academy", write a review! I will take suggestions and potentially have those things included in the academy lessons in this story.

* * *

The next morning, I woke up early to hear movement downstairs. The sun was barely up yet, and Naruto was still sound asleep. Quietly, I crept out, not wanting to wake my brother, and moved downstairs to see what the commotion was about. What I saw was a scene unlike anything I had seen in this life. Papers strewn everywhere with messy scrawls all over them. Some scrunched up, some folded and a few small stacks lying about the chaos. Crowding in front of a blackboard that I was sure we did not own were Genma, Sora, Ebisu and Guy. They were whispering with quite some vigour, seemingly disputing some scrawls on the board.

Out of curiosity, I wondered if I could sneak around and make myself some food undetected, given how focused they were on their planning. I doubted it, because these were four highly capable shinobi, and focused as they were, they wouldn't have survived this long without good background awareness. But, as I moved about, if they were aware, they didn't show it.

As I put some bread in the toaster, I couldn't help but scan a few of the pages laying about. They seemed to have various notes and diagrams pertaining to lesson plans. _Wow, I really wish I could have joined in on this..._

With freshly toasted bread and jam in tow, I walked quietly to the dining table next to them, pushed aside some papers and set my food, and then myself, down, and began to eat. I made no move to interrupt them, and yet they seemed to bring their discussion to a halt in my clearly close proximity.

"Oh, don't mind me, carry on!" I said cheerily, cackling on the inside. Oh, this was going to be fun.

"Good morning, Obito. It's quite alright, we were just finishing up anyway." Ebisu said politely. "I hope we didn't disturb your sleep?"

"Not at all!" I responded with matching politeness, as though this was the most normal occurrence ever. "I just woke up, and Naruto is still out cold. Busy night at work, huh?"

"Er, yes, well, uh, we had some matters to take care of." Sora stammered out, as though he had something to hide. I imagined that he didn't want me to get a swollen ego over my family being the central cog in this _coup_ they were planning.

"Matters indeed!" I proclaimed. "So, I'll be seeing more of you lot at the Academy soon, then?"

There was something so devilishly entertaining about the way I was directing this conversation, being a 'child' speaking about something that children wouldn't usually bother with or even comprehend, yet having the full plausible deniability of just being a particularly clever and astute 'child'.

"What?" Sora questioned, scratching his head in embarrassment.

Genma hit his forehead with his palm. "Sora my dear, how do you decide to give Obito a book on _fuinjutsu_ , and then get all surprised when he comes down and reads the veerryy visible papers we left out. Cognitive dissonance, much?"

I had to stifle a giggle at that one, even Genma would be shocked if I demonstrated an understanding of something such as cognitive dissonance, with no plausible reason for knowing of it. I knew I was going to have to open that can of worms sometime, but now was not that time. So, I smiled on, and ate my breakfast.

The four of them set about gathering up the various papers and organising them. By the time Naruto stumbled down the stairs, there was no evidence of the night's activities, other than the fact that Team Choza plus Sora were sitting around the table, having breakfast.

"Back so soon?" Naruto yawned.

"They never left." I replied.

"Kay." Naruto said, and then went to get himself something to eat.

"Say, Sora, where can I get more to read when I finish this book? It's gonna take me a while because there's still a lot I don't get, but this whole fuinjutsu thing is really interesting and I want to learn more about it!" I said.

Before Sora could respond, Genma grinned and spoke. "Obito, when you finish that book, here is what you do. You go find Kakashi. Ask him to teach you. If he says no, which he probably will, you tell him that I'll tell Guy where he lives."

"Ha Ha Ha! My Eternal Rival will have a hard time refusing that!" Guy laughed, very transparently looking like he hoped Kakashi would say no.

"... Eternal rival?" I asked.

"Indeed! Kakashi and I have partaken in one hundred and one contests of youthfulness, and I have 51 wins to his 50!" Guy proclaimed.

"I see." I responded, and without any further elaboration left to get changed and ready for day two of the shinobi academy.

A short while later, Guy and Ebisu excused themselves, and Genma walked us to the academy.

* * *

_A short while later, in the Hokage's office_

The hokage let out a rather drawn out sigh. He looked at the four men in front of him, and sighed again.

"Fine, I'll agree..." The hokage paused, and sighed again. "But only with a few conditions in place."

"Excellent. What are these conditions, Hokage-sama?" Ebisu asked.

"First, I am assigning you as the lead teacher for the first year class at the Academy. Whilst I did not wish to give you that particular class due to clear conflicts of interest, I do agree that it is best to start these... changes... early. To accommodate this assignment, Ebisu, you will be relieved from active duty, and not expected to take on any missions for the remainder of this year. However, this will not extend to the rest of you."

"Second, this is a probationary assignment for this one year. As you proposed, we will design a contest that will pit this class with the class above them at the end of this year. If your class comes through that contest victorious, I will permit you to remain as their lead teacher for the duration of their time in the academy."

"Third, I am willing to offer you, Ebisu, a promotion to full jonin status and give you the position of Academy Director at the end of these six years, IF every single one of your students graduates from the academy within those six years, and that they all also pass their jonin instructors' tests."

"Respectfully, Hokage-sama," Ebisu interrupted, "whilst the promotion is of little importance to me, I would relish the opportunity to introduce my teaching plans more widely. For that reason, I cannot agree to this third condition of yours. We must be honest here, not every student who enters the academy is cut out for the life of a shinobi, and several of them will drop out before the end. Instead, I propose that this promotion be conditional on every student who is _in my class_ at the end of these six years graduating the academy and passing their jonin instructor's test. I am confident that all of the students who have the potential to become shinobi will succeed in doing so."

"Fine, I can agree to that." The Hokage said. "Then let us move on. Fourth, I do approve of your plans to regularly invite skilled Tokubetsu Jonin and Jonin ranked individuals to help teach certain topics. However, their active duty takes precedence over your lesson plans. If they are requested for a mission, they go on that mission, and you reschedule your planned lesson. These are my terms. If you agree, then you will start with your new class tomorrow. For the rest of today, I would like for you to go and observe the class. You will have either Iruka or Mizuki, their two current teachers, assisting you for the remainder of this year. I want you to appraise the students and teachers, and report back to me after their last lesson with your selection of assistant teacher."

"Very well, the four of you are dismissed. Oh, and well done all of you, this was an excellent proposal and I'm impressed by the thoroughness of your plans. I look forward to seeing the results of this."

* * *

_The Academy_

During our first lesson of the day, which was on hand seals, I must admit my focus was fully captured. Oh, not by the actual lesson. It was miserably disappointing, and I figured I could learn all of this at another point much more efficiently. What captured my attention was my fuinjutsu book. The section I was currently reading talked about how the seals manipulated chakra to produce various effects.

Apparently, there was a glaringly obvious reason why fuinjutsu experts were rare, and why it wasn't an absurdly powerful skill trumping all other forms of fighting. The creation of a seal essentially required a very clear and precise definition of the effect, and accurate use of fuinjutsu scripts and diagrams to produce those effects. Learning how to do so was already very difficult and still time consuming even for those well versed in fuinjutsu, but on top of that a small mistake in the seal design could be disastrous.

Following this section was a series of chapters on unanswered issues some fuinjutsu users had found. One example caught my interest. An Iwa sealing master had designed a seal that would mimic the effects of a particular Doton jutsu. It was particularly powerful, and had resulted in Iwa's victory in an attempted ambush of the Land of Earth's Daimyo during the Second Shinobi War. However, that same seal resulted in this kunoichi's death when she tried to use the same seal in the Land of Fire, and it did absolutely nothing. The book then continued on to list a few similar such examples of well-designed seals working in some settings, but failing in others.

 _Huh._ I thought to myself. _They don't know why that happens? I mean, I'd have to test it to be sure, but that sounds like the seals are probably designed accounting for certain parameters, and failing in the absence of those parameters. In the case of the Iwa kunoichi, I'd bet that when she designed the seal, she had done a testing process with the Land of Earth's soil, and the fuinjutsu 'instructions' accounted for that. Then, she probably didn't realise that it wouldn't work with a different soil type. I'd have to find someone who knows Doton jutsu and get them to explain how they work, but if they typically work by manipulating available earthen resources, then that would support my hypothesis. If I'm right, then it's definitely no wonder that fuinjutsu experts are so rare..._

As daunting as that may be to most people, I'm not most people. To me, this was an exciting challenge - a system with a series of rules still unknown to me, which I could investigate and come to understand over time. This was science, and I was nothing if not a total science nerd.

Our next lesson was mathematics. I had hopes for this to be bearable, since I needed to relearn a large amount of mathematics in order to properly study fuinjutsu. Iruka had us copying and executing a series of algorithms for basic operations. Addition and subtraction were always fairly intuitive, and I could see some predictable classmates growing bored with those, as they (and I) understood it already. Multiplication and division also did not take long - They brought to the surface some _very_ old memories, of the time I learned how to do this in my old life. But not of how to actually do them. No, it seemed as though I had very systematically had memories containing the actual knowledge of _many_ fields removed. What I remembered, was how easily I had learned this the first time. Whilst I didn't want to be arrogant or boastful, I remembered how much of a natural I was when it came to mathematics. Which was awesome, because that meant I would make faster headway with fuinjutsu.

I raised my hand to ask a question. "Iruka, in my book I've been reading, there is something I saw about using certain written characters in place of numbers when performing these operations. Could you explain how that works? I think it may have something to do with them representing other numbers?"

"Very good, Obi-" Iruka began to respond, before he was cut off by Mizuki.

"Obito, I will not tolerate this disrespect any longer. You've been reading your book in our lessons, and it is quite clear that your book is _not relevant_ to the lessons at hand. Perhaps if you had been quiet, I could have let this slide, but now you are asking questions that are ahead of the class, and being disruptive. Give me that book now! I expect that you will stay focused on what we are currently learning, or you'll find yourself removed from the Academy promptly. We have no time for disruptive class clowns." Mizuki steamed, practically ripping the book out of my hands before I could even protest.

"Very well, Mizuki- _sensei_ ," I spat out. "I will be sure to remember your lesson, and think on it whenever I wish to learn something extra. In fact, I will make sure I remember it so that it is the last thing I think of when I _die_ on a mission because I didn't learn how to create the barrier seal that could have saved the lives of everyone on my team."

"Mizuki, a word please." I heard Iruka say very firmly.

Iruka and Mizuki stepped outside of the classroom and closed the door, leaving a class full of children who had been stunned into complete silence, which held impressively long. We could all hear a shouting match outside, and then the door opened again. Iruka walked back in, holding my book, and _not_ followed by Mizuki.

An obscure insect on a wall of the classroom somewhere thought to itself _Well that made my decision quite easy._

"Obito. You asked a good question and I will be happy to answer it during our lunch break, if you would like to take the time to come and learn about it. And, I will return your book to you at the end of the day. I will say with no remorse that what Mizuki did was completely unacceptable for any teacher to do, and he will not be returning to teach this class. None of you in this class should ever sit by and let that happen to yourselves or your peers. However," Iruka spoke, with the same firmness as before, "I do not want to see or hear word of you speaking with such disrespect to a teacher again. Rather than responding in kind, you should have apologised and pretended to lose. A smart shinobi will always outlive a thoughtless one. Once the class is over and you are safe, you go speak to another teacher or an adult that you know and trust, and allow them to help you report the issue and have it resolved. Now, class, where were we?"

During our lunch break, I did take up Iruka on his offer, and he introduced me to the topic of algebra. I found it a bit tricky to work through at first, as there were clear gaps in my knowledge of mathematics, however Iruka was more than happy to give me the names of some books I could use to work through the missing knowledge on my own. He explained that he didn't have time to work with me through this during our lessons, since I was ahead of the rest of the class, however he did say that he was fine with me working on my own. He only asked that I try to work on materials relevant to the lesson during each class if I was ahead on the content.

I found Iruka's suggestion reasonable - it wasn't his fault that he didn't have the resources to cater to a wide array of abilities on his own, he just wasn't given the means to do so. _Don't worry_ , I thought to myself. _Help is coming._

After the school day finished, Naruto and I found Ebisu waiting to walk home with us. Supposedly he was in the area anyway, so he had offered to Genma and Sora that he could see us home safely.

"So, how did your team mission today go?" I asked Ebisu. Naruto sent me an inquisitive look, and I silently mouthed 'tell you later' to him.

"You'll see soon enough." Ebisu smiled. I smiled back.

"Will you keep Iruka around?" I inquired.

"You'll see soon enough." Ebisu answered, this time with a more ambiguous meaning.

* * *

_Somewhere in the Land of Hot Springs_

"Thanks. Go have a drink on me!" The man said to his informant, tossing the woman a few coins.

 _So, you've changed bodies again? What are you doing, my friend? When did it all go wrong?_ He thought to himself as he returned to the room he had rented for the night to resume work on the book he was writing.

* * *

 **Note:** You may notice that I have not been using honorifics most of the time. This is a conscious decision, as they don't click well with me in terms of general use, however I find that in specific situations they seem very fitting.

 **Another Note:** I'm sure it's pretty obvious what that last little scene was, but I wonder if you know what it's about? If you think you've figured out where I'm going with that, send me a message - I'm curious to see what people come up with/predict! If you manage to piece together all of the available information to figure out where it's going, I'll gladly write in a cameo character of your making for a fun scene or two!


	8. Chapter 6: Actually Learning

**AN:** I'm gonna try something a bit different in this chapter just to see how it goes. I'm going to write in third person. I usually find first person harder to read, so I'm not exactly sure how it happened that I started writing this in the first person. I feel like first person is making it harder for me to fit in elements of my attempts at writing. So let's see how this goes. If you think one or the other is better, let me know in the comments/reviews!

Also, I hope you find the coming chapters as exciting as I do. I was sooo keen to get the story to this point because writing the academy stuff with Ebisu stepping in and making the learning actually good is such a big part of making my story mine. For context, I'm studying teaching and am _very_ passionate about it.

CW: Trauma, Alcoholism as a coping mechanism (towards the end of the chapter). If these are a problem for you, stop reading once the chapter changes settings to no longer be at the Academy.

* * *

When we rocked up to the Academy the next morning, everything seemed perfectly normal. The sun was shining, wind gently pushing the leaves on trees into a steady flowing rhythm, and kids were walking to the Academy whilst groaning about another day copying down history notes from a blackboard. Uzumaki Obito and Uzumaki Naruto, however, were not complaining about anything. Naruto and Obito were both unusually quiet, stuck in an anticipatory state. The previous afternoon, when they returned home, Obito had filled Naruto in on everything he knew about the upcoming change in their education. Obito trusted Ebisu to change things for the better, and Naruto trusted Obito, therefore Naruto also trusted Ebisu.

What seemed like moments later, the two were sitting in their classroom, amongst their peers, quietly waiting. The classroom was noisy, of course. After all, it was filled with young, restless children who expected just another day of sitting still and taking notes, perhaps with a bit of taijutsu training if they were lucky.

Iruka walked in, and greeted the class. He was not accompanied by Mizuki. That, everyone expected, for he had stated clearly yesterday that Mizuki would not be returning to teach this class, after his inappropriate outburst. Instead, Iruka was accompanied by a slim man, dressed in Konoha's blue shinobi attire, wearing a bandana-style hitai-ate and tinted glasses that made his eyes impossible to see.

"Good morning, class! I would like to introduce you to your new head teacher, Ebisu. I expect you to give him a warm welcome, and treat him with the utmost respect. Ebisu is a skilled teacher, and you'll find that you're incredibly lucky to have him!" Iruka said cheerily. A more astute individual might have picked out small tells on his face of his apprehension. Who wouldn't be apprehensive when someone is brought in out of nowhere to take over your job, even if they were undoubtedly much better at it than you?

There was some slight murmuring in response to this; confusion, what with a change in teachers on day three of their first year at the academy. When Ebisu opened his mouth to speak, some students may have expected him to berate or reprimand them for disrespect.

"Thank you, Iruka. Now, while I would be overjoyed to be treated with the utmost of respect from my first moments as your teacher, I do not expect it. Respect is something that is earned. I am confident that I will earn everybody's respect, and I hope that you will all earn mine. Now, how about we begin? Could you all please leave your belongings here in the classroom, and come outside with me to the training field? We're going to start the day with something a little more practical." Ebisu said, and then proceeded to lead the class outside.

Once everyone was outside and settled, Ebisu began speaking again. "So, I have a question for you, before we begin. What do you think makes a shinobi effective? And when you speak, could you please say your name? I would like to properly get to know each of you."

Ino was the first to raise her hand, and was invited to speak. "Hi, I'm Yamanaka Ino! I think that any good shinobi needs to be able to deceive their enemies, and catch them by surprise!"

"Very good, Ino. The element of surprise is very important, because it can decide the victor of a fight very quickly, and even allow a weaker shinobi to defeat a stronger one. Outside of battle, too, it has many uses. What else, class?" Ebisu responded. Another student raised their hand.

"My name is Inazuka Kiba. I think that a good shinobi should have great senses, so they can sniff out their targets." Kiba said proudly.

"Ah, spoken like a true Inazuka. You must be Tsume's son? Tell her I said hi, I haven't seen her in a while. And yes, sensory skills, whether they are enhanced smell, the ability to detect chakra, or to see chakra from far away, are all highly beneficial. Not all shinobi are able to develop such skills, however, which is one of many reasons we choose to work in teams. We complement each other's strengths and cover each other's weaknesses." Ebisu explained. "Anything else? These have been great answers so far."

Naruto raised his hand. "I think that the best shinobi are the ones who master lots of powerful ninjutsu!"

Obito smirked. _How very Naruto._ He thought to himself.

"Having powerful ninjutsu is certainly useful to many shinobi, I do agree. And in some cases, it can in fact be the sheer power of ninjutsu that determines the outcomes of a battle, rather than intellect and other skills." Ebisu agreed. "However, I believe that those who strive to master poweful ninjutsu must remember something important, so that they may become even more effective, and that is to master the uses of these ninjutsu as well. To know when and why to use them, or not use them, is as important as just being able to use the ninjutsu."

"This brings me to our first lesson together. At times, shinobi may find themselves in situations where they are injured, trapped, or stranded. They may be out of chakra, or hungry with no food to be found. These are undoubtedly scary and difficult situations. But with the right training, a shinobi can learn how to think in these situations and make the most of them. So, we are going to have a sparring tournament now. They will be one on one, with two matches occuring at a time, one supervised by myself and one by Iruka. You may use whatever you have at your disposal, with one catch. You will not be allowed to make any use of your dominant arm. Iruka and I will now come around to tie your dominant arm behind your backs. The objective of your match will be to knock your opponent to the ground. Are there any questions?" Ebisu asked.

A girl raised her hand. "Hi, my name is Amiyo Fuki. My parents aren't shinobi, and so I haven't had any taijutsu training yet, but I know most of the clan kids have. Isn't this a bit unfair to us?"

"Thank you Fuki, that is a fair point. However, I do not believe it is something to be concerned about for this lesson. Firstly, fighting with one hand restricted will be difficult for all of you. Those who make it far in this tournament will be the ones who are able to make the most of their situation. Also, I wish for those of you who did not have clans to train you, to not worry. I am aware of this, and will work to ensure that all students will have the opportunity to learn in my classes." Ebisu responded.

Ebisu and Iruka then proceeded to bind the dominant arm of each student, and divide them up into two halves. Each half proceeded to a large marked square that defined the boundaries of their combat arenas.

"Now, before your fights begin, Iruka and I have something to show you. When we spar in Konoha, we perform a couple of symbolic signs to remind ourselves of why we spar - to help each other grow stronger. First is the seal of confrontation, which we make before starting any spar, as a sign that we commit to give our spars our all as a sign of respect to one another. The seal is formed by clenching one hand into a fist, and extending out your first two fingers like so." The two teachers performed the seal. "Then, when we finish a spar, we perform the seal of reconciliation. This is done by linking those two fingers together with your opponent, like a two-finger handshake. Like so."

After demonstrating the symbolic seals, the teachers had the students participating in the first matches perform the seal of confrontation, and then begin.

The first rounds of fights were awkward, at best. It did not take the first round of combatants long to understand that it was difficult to throw punches or kicks and stay balanced with a hand tied behind their backs. One student fell over by missing a kick, and that was enough to inform all observers to be more careful in how they attacked. Matches often ended quickly, and before long it came to the final match.

Numerous students in the class expected the final match to be between Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke, who had quickly revealed themselves as the two strongest students in the first two days of class. However, those expectations were not met, as Uzumaki Obito and a boy named Akamichi Choji proceeded into the final match, with many onlookers. Obito and Choji had defeated Sasuke and Naruto respectively in the semi-finals. Obito had won his matches by fighting defensively, and looking for ways to strike unexpectedly and without losing balance. Choji, had determined a strategy of approaching his opponents side-on and bumping into them, using his body weight to topple opponents without throwing his own centre of gravity.

The class watched on excitedly as the last match began. Disappointments from losses were forgotten, as the students all wanted to see which of these two promising fighters would come out on top.

As the fight began, Choji adopted his side-on stance immediately and shuffled towards Obito. Obito, in response, began circling Choji, forcing him to adapt his stance constantly. Many expected that Obito would dash to a side and try push Choji, but that was _not_ what happened. Obito quickly squatted to the ground, picked up a handful of dirt and threw it at Choji's eyes. Choji had to use his one available hand to shield his face, which gave Obito enough time to dash behind Choji and kick at his back, pushing him to the floor.

"That was dirty!" Someone called out from amongst the onlookers.

Meanwhile, Obito ran over to Choji and extended a hand to help him up, and then they performed the seal of reconciliation.

"Sorry about that!" Obito apologised, hoping Choji wouldn't take it personally.

"Nah, that was smart. I found one way to fight that worked and just kept doing that, but you were able to surprise me. Nice fight!" Choji smiled, blinking to try and get the remaining dirt out of his eyes.

Ebisu stepped in and congratulated them both on a fight well fought.

"Now, I heard one of you say that was dirty. Whilst an excellent pun," Ebisu remarked, and earned a series of well-deserved groans, "it was a clever tactic. Even Choji recognised this, and did not get angry about it. I applaud Choji for an excellent attitude. Now, which students do you think were the two most effective shinobi in this tournament?"

As the fights had been happening, Ebisu had been observing more than just the fights themselves. He had been watching his students, to see how they were using their time as observers. He identified a particular student who had been watching the fights more closely than others, and decided to call on that student to give their observations.

"Shikamaru, what do you think?" Ebisu asked.

The boy named Shikamaru groaned. "Why me?"

"I want this to be a class where you all learn from each other, and you were observing these matches quite closely after you purposefully fell over in your first match." Ebisu grinned.

"Tch. How troublesome." Shikamaru complained. "Well, fine. I think most of you will be thinking that it is obviously Choji and Obito. I would agree that Obito was the most effective here, but not Choji. Sorry Choji."

Choji waved it off.

"Obito was creative - he mixed up his approaches, and stayed on the defensive until he was sure it was safe to attack. He used his surroundings, as well as the movements of his opponents. Choji's approach was great, until it became predictable, allowing Obito to easily exploit it. I think the other most effective shinobi was Hyuuga Hinata. No, she didn't win her first match, because she was afraid and not confident in herself. But notice that her match went on the longest out of any, because her defense was so good. I think that if she was more confident in herself, she would have won all the way through to the finals." Shikamaru explained, and Ebisu clapped.

"Excellent, Shikamaru. I couldn't have said it any better myself. One thing I would like to add is that Choji realised his mistake almost immediately after his fight, and learned from it already. Would anyone else like to share what they learned from their own fights?" Ebisu asked.

A girl with unusual pink hair raised her hand.

"Sakura, go on." Ebisu said.

"Um, I was the first to lose to Choji. I thought I had lost because Choji is much stronger than me, but when I saw how Obito won, I realised that I was just afraid." Sakura said.

Another student, a girl called Ami, laughed at that. "Ooooh, Sakura's a scaredy-cat!"

Ebisu coughed. "Ami, please remember what I said earlier today about how respect is earned. Whilst this is no way for you to earn my respect, also consider that it is no way to earn Sakura's respect. While that may not seem important to you now, I have every confidence that Sakura will become a very capable shinobi in time. Not only was she not afraid to share such a comment, she was not afraid to learn from her own mistakes. This is something I want you all to strive for, as it is what will enable you to grow. Now, Sakura, fear is not necessarily a bad thing for a shinobi to have. If you are rightfully afraid in a dangerous situation, that fear can motivate you to act. What happened in your match, was that you were frozen by your fear."

Ami's face got a bit red, as she was upset and angered by the teacher's comment, but backed down.

"Alright, that is enough for now. We'll go back to the classroom and you may have a short break to chat amongst yourselves or relax as you see fit, and then we will continue with our next lesson." Ebisu said. He and Iruka shepherded the students back to the classroom, and made some casual small talk between themselves as the kids ran free within the classroom for a while.

During this break, Obito sat and thought, smiling almost scarily the whole time. Not because he had won the tournament. Because he was incredibly amazed by Ebisu's ability as a teacher. Within the space of one lesson, Ebisu had managed to earn the respect of many students, while setting clear boundaries about acceptable behaviour, and allowed several students to feel good about their learning. _Damn, he's almost as good as I was_ Obito thought cheekily.

* * *

After a short break, Ebisu decided it was time to begin the next lesson.

"Ok, students. Time to get back to work!" Ebisu called out, and gave them all a few moments to settle down. "As shinobi, there is a lot we need to know that involves some sort of studying. We will get to that, but later. And, for the majority of you who are not so fond of copying notes off a board, worry not. There are some lessons where that will be required, but they will be few and far between. _Now_ , I want us to get started with something that is essential to begin working on early - Chakra control."

Some murmuring built up. Ebisu raised a hand to call for quiet.

"Now, I know that you are all at different levels with this, so those of you who have already begun training your chakra control, bear with me for just a moment." Ebisu said, before drawing up a diagram of a human body on the blackboard and marking it in order to make a brief explanation of the chakra system and tenketsu points.

"So, as you can see, using your chakra depends, in part, on the size of your chakra coils and how much they can store. But it's also how well you can use it. Over time, you can improve both, so I want us to start early, and we will work on this every day. As we work on this, I want you to focus on what _you_ can do, and on your _own_ progress. Some of you have started learning chakra control as early as you could walk, but some have never heard of chakra control today. You'll all be at different places, and this is fine." Ebisu explained.

He then divided the class into those who had trained in chakra control before, and those who hadn't, taking the group who had no experience whilst Iruka worked with those who had. Over the course of the lesson, Ebisu explained a few methods of getting in touch with one's chakra, and worked with the students so that they could practice on their own at home. Meanwhile, Iruka gave the more experienced students exercises to work on matching their ability levels.

For the hyped up students who were excited to uncover the power of chakra, the slow pace of training chakra control was testing. Some students did not have the patience to sit through more than a few minutes of meditation, so Ebisu had them go out to the corridor outside the classroom and take a break, and come back when they were ready. A couple of kids came back, but the rest took it as an opportunity to skip out on the rest of the class.

Those who did not want to come back, Ebisu spoke to in the corridor and let them know that they should return to the classroom in ten minutes, to continue with the next class. They did, though not without a little hassling. The remaining lessons in the day were taken up with practical, hands-on, and often collaborative activities, covering a broad array of topics of general knowledge.

* * *

_Somewhere in the Land of Tea_

The house dealer was grinning on the inside. The woman before him was losing, and _badly_. He could have sworn he was dealing with 'The Legendary Sucker', but that woman was taller, older, and known to be far less composed. This short lady who looked scarcely older than a teenager, was swearing constantly, clearly conveying her hand with her actions. When a kid like that walks in with a wad of cash and wants to play, a smart dealer would let them. Let them play, let them lose.

Once again, the young lass started cussing upon being dealt her new hand, and the game was drawing to a close. The dealer heard this lass swear something about going all in - he saw many a brash player take a final risk instead of just cutting their losses, and that was why he lived such a comfortable life. The players revealed their hands, and something. was. just. not. right.

He was sure the young woman had screwed up, but this was when he realised that he was the one who was duped. Played like a fool. The girl had a royal flush, and just cleaned out all of the winnings. She broke out into a wide grin, took her newly won pool of tokens, exchanged them for cash and disappeared before anyone could get in a word edgewise.

But, no _good_ gambling house lets this happen, otherwise they'd all be out of business. The dealer signalled to a couple of brawny men at the door, who set out to chase this woman down. They saw her disappear into an alleyway, so they ran in, to be greeted by... nothing. It was empty, and a dead end at that.

Atop one of the buildings aside an alleyway, the young woman smirked. A moment later, she was gone, and in her place was a middle-aged woman with pitch black hair. Much taller, and dressed in an elegant kimono. This elegantly dressed woman dashed unseen across the rooftops, before quietly descending to the ground in another part of town. She set off, entering and then leaving a handful of stores with various purchases visible in a simple carry-bag. Before night had a chance to fall, she was gone.

A short half-hour later, a definitely middle-aged woman with a guarded expression and a small red diamond on her forehead walked into a poorly maintained house towards the edge of town. Inside, a child was coughing, and the boy's mother was by his side, holding his hand and doing all that she could - hope for the best. Another young woman was by the boy's side, performing a form of medical ninjutsu that was designed to stabilise individuals for surgery.

"Are you ready?" The young woman asked her elder.

"Yes, I have everything I need, including for _later_." The older woman responded, taking a few deep breaths and steading herself.

"Now, Emiko," the older woman adressed the boy's mother, "I want to remind you that this procedure only has a 50 percent survival rate. Either we finish this, and your son will be healthy and able to live out the rest of his life with no issues, or these moments will be his last. The only guarantee I can give you is that it will be one of these two. Do you still wish to proceed?"

The boy's mother, Emiko, looked at the bag her maybe-saviour had brought in, and noticed alcohol. The strong stuff, in large quantities.

"Uh... What's all that for?" Emiko asked.

The older woman sighed. "If this goes well, celebration. I'll gladly share a few bottles with you if you like. If this doesn't go well, I'm keeping it all. Shall I proceed?"

Emiko was stunned, at a loss for words.

"Well?" The older woman snapped.

"Uh, yes, please! I know the risks, but if you don't do this, my son won't make it to adulthood anyway." Emiko begged. All she had known was that her son was sick since he was born, and getting worse as he grew older. He couldn't breath properly. He couldn't play with the other kids. She was barely making ends meet as is, and then this woman and her companion showed up out of nowhere, and offered to try and help her son, for free. Emiko was suspicious at first, but she realised that even if this was all a bogus act, it was her son's last chance. She may not have known much about medicine, but as a mother she knew that her son's chances were slim without this help.

"Ok. Say goodbye to your son now, and then please leave. We've spoken about this before, but I must remind you that you cannot come in until we are done. I need to have absolute focus for this to have a chance of working, and I have lost too many patients from family members who couldn't help themselves from barging in mid-procedure. I will not stop you either way - your actions are your choice, your responsibility. If you understand, please leave. We will come get you as soon as we finish, and give you the news, whatever it may be." The older woman explained. She was scathing in tone, but her words conveyed the care she held, explaining everything that her patient and his mother needed to know.

Emiko kissed her son on the forehead, squeezed his hand one last time, and left without another word.

The older woman's assistant spoke. "Tsunade-sama, aren't you forgetting your usual threats about telling anyone that we were here?"

"Pah. There's no need for that anymore, Shizune." Tsunade smiled. Then, her eyes narrowed, and she got to work.

When she made the first cut, Tsunade winced at the sight of the beads of red fluid that emerged. She had gotten much, much better at handling her trauma triggers, but they never went away fully. This was something she would have to deal with for the rest of her life. The alcohol wasn't only there to mute the feelings or failure or celebrate a success, after all.

Several long hours later, Tsunade and Shizune emerged from the house to find Emiko sitting still by the door. Emiko stood quickly, and looked to the two women before her. "So? How is my son? Tell me, who is drinking tonight?"

Tsunade's face relaxed, and showed no emotion. "Emiko, I need you to understand something. Your son had the worst case of this disease I have worked on, or seen, in my entire life. It's a miracle he survived this far." Tsunade's face then lifted into the gentlest, most compassionate smile Shizune had seen in years. "Which is why I'd like you to come back inside now. Drinks are on me, and if you don't mind, we'll crash here tonight so we can be nearby to check on your boy in the morning."

Shizune's bottled tears burst out, almost matching Emiko's. Both were crying tears of joy, but for different reasons. For Emiko, it was all about her son, who would now get the live out a full life thanks to this Tsunade's act of kindness. For Shizune, it was the realisation of the implications of this success.

Tsunade's face, however, hardened. Though this was a joyous occasion, the work ahead of her was not done. There was so much more to do.

* * *

_Somewhere in Konoha_

Within a small, candle-lit room in Konoha's underground sat six figures. All of them were tense, showing a mix of reactions from anger to disbelief. An elderly woman, with a physique withered by age, but a temperament fierce as ever, stood up suddenly, pointing a finger at the young man across from her.

"You fool! You speak of treason without a single sign of hesitation or remorse! What the hell brought this about?" She demanded, and it was clear to all who knew her that she wouldn't back down until she got a satisfactory response.

"Treason or no, they've neglected us long enough. We deserve far better than this, and to think they expect us to passively _let_ ourselves be pushed out of the village we helped create!" The young man responded with a seemingly impassable stoicism.

"Boy! Who do you think you're talking to? You kids think you know everything, but I was around when this village was formed. I know just as well as you what is happening to us, but I also know that there are _better ways_ to handle this. We need to-" The older woman spoke fiercely, but the younger man was unmoved, and interjected.

"With all due respect, that won't work because it HASN'T BEEN WORKING! If you're not with us, you can damn well step aside and let us do what needs to be done. Now, does anyone else have any complaints?" The young man, clearly the leader amongst the group, asked.

Nobody else responded.

"Very well, this meeting is adjourned. Let those of us who are _prepared to do what must be done_ meet again in a week. Dismissed!" The man barked, and three of the six immediately departed, leaving behind the leader, the elderly woman and another woman who sat in between the feuding duo.

"Boy, I hope you know what you're doing. And may the consequences be on _your_ head." The older woman hissed, a barely detectable note of dismay in her expression, and a moment later she was gone.

Alone in the small room, the leader clutched the remaining woman's hand tightly. With a deep breath, he loosened his grip, and he too disappeared.

* * *

 **AN:** Once again, super fun chapter to write. If you have any thoughts, questions or feedback please don't hesitate to let me know!


	9. Chapter 7: 'Chakra Abnormalities'

_S_ _hiranui Residence_

Both boys' pillows were accumulating sweat, their blankets a tangle wrapped every which way around their limbs. The boys tossed and turned through the night. Neither slept well.

* * *

_In the Land of Rice Fields_

In a rare moment of solitude, a pale individual, soaking through with sweat, shakily pushed a small scroll into the mouth of a small white snake, which then slithered away into the darkness.

* * *

_Somewhere in the Land of Tea_

As Tsunade lifted the sake cup to her mouth, she realised she couldn't hold it in anymore. Her vain hopes that she could just bottle everything up and get over herself were just that, vain. Without a word, she dashed outside, and moments later Shizune and Emiko could hear the awful sounds of hurling..

"Excuse me, Emiko. I'm so sorry about this!" Shizune apologised, and quickly moved outside to check on her mentor.

Stepping outside, Shizune noted that Tsunade was still vomiting over the grass. The putrid smell washed over her, and though she had become somewhat desensitised to it, it was still hard to ignore. Warily, Shizune approached Tsunade to put a comforting hand on her back.

"Damnit, Damnit, DAMNIT!" Tsunade screamed, pounding her fist on the ground beside her.

* * *

_Somewhere in the Land of Hot Water_

As the sun rose, an author sat in his rented room, scribbling away on a notepad, taking ideas and building them into the outlines of a scene, giggling to himself as he wrote. Satisfied, he put down his notepad and stepped outside to get some air. He noticed the smallest hint of a familiar inhuman chakra, and the relaxed look slid off his face completely.

Following the chakra to its source, the man found a small white snake with a scroll in its mouth, slithering straight towards him. The snake dropped the scroll, and vanished with a small poof of smoke.

* * *

_Konoha, one month later_

"You were right to bring your concerns to me. Thank you, Genma. You needn't worry, though. I'll have it all sorted out promptly... Very well. Genma, thank you again. You are dismissed."

As Genma departed the Hokage's office and closed the door behind him, he released a breath he hadn't realised he was holding, relieved.

Back in the office, a masked figure appeared before the Hokage.

"Hound, I expect you heard all of that?" The Hokage asked.

Silence.

"Very well. I am assigning you a solo mission. Find him and bring him back to Konoha with the utmost urgency."

It had been a month at the academy, and the Uzumaki twins had fallen into a comfortable routine. Usually, Genma or Sora would walk them to the academy in the morning and walk home with them at the end of the day. Occasionally, when they were both busy with missions or other tasks, the twins would walk with Sasuke and one of his parents. Today, however, something was a bit different. On top of being walked home by Kakashi, who they hadn't seen since the beginning of the month, there was a strange man sitting in the dining room of their home. The man had _long_ white hair, and wore a hitai-ate with the kanji for 'oil' written on it.

 _Strange,_ Obito thought to himself. _Don't hitai-ate usually have the symbol of a hidden village on them?_

"Welcome home, boys!" Sora said not moments after they walked through the door. Neither boy noticed the subtle mix of concern and relief on Sora and Genma's faces.

 _This is Jiraiya, your godfather, who abandoned the village instead of looking after you when your parents died_ , Kakashi wanted to say.

"We'd like you to meet Jiraiya here. He's an old friend, who's come to help out. See, he was passing through Konoha when I bumped into him, and mentioned your nightmares to him-" Genma began to explain with a barely-just-indetectable smile plastered on his face.

"Daaaaaaaaaaaad! Not coooooooooooool!" Naruto shouted, red beginning to tint his face.

Genma cracked up a bit, still adjusting to how nice it felt when the two kids had begun to call him 'Dad' and Sora 'Pops'.

"Naruto, relax! Jiraiya happens to know a thing or two about your nightmares, and says he might be able to stop them. Isn't that great?" Sora attempted.

Naruto seemed to settle down at this a bit, but began glaring at Jiraiya. He seemed to be sulking because this unfamiliar stranger knew something he thought was 'super embarrassing'. Obito, however, seemed to be concentrating, as though trying to remember something important.

Jiraiya looked down at the two boys and smiled congenially. "Ah, I've heard so much about you two. The way your dad talks about you, I'd think you're the best thing that happened to him since he got picked to guard the Fourth Hokage!"

Obito made the connection, between the man standing in front of him and the Sannin they had learned about at the Academy a couple weeks back. "Jiraiya? _The_ Jiraiya? Dad, a _Sannin_ is an 'old friend' of yours?"

"Once a Sannin perhaps, my young friend," Jiraiya smiled faintly. "But now I'm just a humble traveller, relaxing and enjoying the wonders of life. Now, let's get down to business! How much do you boys know about chakra?"

"Uh, isn't chakra the stuff that lets us walk up walls and stick stuff to our hands and stuff?" Naruto scratched his head.

"That's right, Naruto! Chakra is important for all sorts of techniques shinobi use, such as walking up walls. Do you know how it works?" Jiraiya responded, seemingly impressed by Naruto's initial response.

"Nah, it's all complicated... You should ask Obito, he gets that stuff way better than me!" Naruto offered.

"Well, as you said we use chakra for most techniques Shinobi need to use. It's made up of spiritual and physical energy, and flows through our bodies all the time." Obito answered.

"Very good! When I heard about your problem from Genma, I knew I had to come and take a look. You see, sometimes kids with lots of chakra get some problems. The chakra pathways inside their bodies can get a bit messed up, and it can cause problems like the nightmares you've been having. I owe your dad a favour, so I'm here to fix you both up." Jiraiya explained.

Obito's eyes narrowed in suspicion, not convinced that this explanation was true, and yet confused by the implication of it. _Surely, if the nightmares are to do with chakra, it would be because of the Kyuubi inside of Naruto? But then, if I'm having the nightmares too... But the Kyuubi is inside of Naruto! Maybe there's something I don't know about chakra, and he's telling the truth?_

Sora watched the expressions change on Obito's face quietly, not knowing exactly what to make of them.

"I'm gonna have to fix you up one at a time. Naruto, take off your shirt." Jiraiya demanded.

Naruto did as he was asked, and went to stand in front of Jiraiya. Jiraiya squatted down, and pressed his hand to Naruto's belly. His hand glowed a faint blue briefly, and then a spiral seal appeared.

"Woah! Where did that come from?" Naruto gasped.

"It's just part of my technique, showing me what I need to know. Count backwards from 10, please." Jiraiya ordered, borrowing a trick he'd seen one of his old teammates use countless times.

Before Naruto even got halfway through his counting, Jiraiya's hand glowed again, followed by a cry of "Ow!" from Naruto, and then the glowing stopped.

"All done. Go and get yourself cleaned up, you smell like sweat. Obito, you're next!" Jiraiya said grumpily.

Naruto stomped off, grumbling something about a "rude old man". Meanwhile, Obito's eyes thinned again, unable to control his facial expressions. Sora was able to pick up yet again on Obito's expression and grew concerned.

 _Does he know about the Kyuubi?_ Sora thought. _But how?_

As Obito took off his shirt and approached Jiraiya, he breathed deeply to calm himself down, convinced that Jiraiya would find no such seal on his own belly. But when Jiraiya pressed his palm to Obito's belly, Obito's eyes widened in shock. Not moments after feeling Jiraiya's chakra move into his abdomen, a seal similar to Naruto's appeared there.

 _What? But Naruto's the jinchuriki! Not me!_ Obito thought, startled. _I guess it explains a lot of what's been going on lately..._

While Jiraiya worked on Obito, Sora covertly formed a short series of hand seals, forming a mental link with Genma.

"Genma, I don't know how or why, but I think Obito knows about the Kyuubi. He's been acting strange this whole time, and seemed really surprised to see the seal on himself, but completely unaffected when it showed up on Naruto. Something about this isn't right. I know it's not something I should ever consider doing to one of our children, but do you think I should..." Sora thought to Genma over their mental link.

Genma turned to face Sora. "I... You know how to read people _damn_ well, and this could get serious if you're right and we do nothing. I say yes, this once and never again. Go in long enough to find out if you're right, and come straight back out. And try to ignore anything that's not about this! Gods, I feel awful about this but if you're right and he says something to the wrong person..."

Sora walked over to Obito, and put a hand on his head, ruffling his hair.

When Obito recoiled from Jiraiya's technique, Sora put the hand on his shoulder and squeezed to support him.

"Alright, Obito, I'm all done. You stink too, go clean yourself up." Jiraiya announced.

Obito paced off, trying to keep his breath steady at least until he was out of earshot.

* * *

_Several kilometres outside of Konoha_

"I was doing my best not to see anything that wasn't about the Kyuubi, and searching his memories was way harder than it is with most people. While I was trying to find what I was looking for, I heard him think the words 'I'm a jinchuriki'. I didn't even feel comfortable invading his mind to begin with, so I didn't stay any longer. But I'm sure that's what I heard. And there's more than that. While you were repairing Naruto's seal, he hardly seemed surprised to see the seal show up. Yet when you repaired his own, he seemed more shocked than I've ever seen. I'm no Inoichi but I was in T&I, and I know my own kids. He definitely knew about Naruto being a jinchuriki, but somehow didn't know it to be true of himself." Sora explained, recounting what he saw as precisely as he could.

"Who could have told him?" Jiraiya asked, his back resting against the firm support of a pine tree.

"I don't know! Look, the kids are both quite clever for their age, but Obito is by far the cleverest. He tears through books like nobody's business, and I gave him a book on the bare basics of fuinjutsu just before they started on the academy. It was nothing major, the kind you'd give to a genin with potential to read before they start learning anything about how to actually build seals. I thought maybe he'd been able to see Naruto's seal at some point, but I'm sure he doesn't know enough to actually understand a seal from seeing it." Sora spoke frantically, pushing up his hair as he worried. "Should we go to the Hokage?"

"No!" Jiraiya shouted, before remembering himself and apologising. "Look, I respect my old teacher, but I don't trust him. Right now, Hiruzen is content with letting them grow up before they start training to use the powers of the Kyuubi. But all it would take is for Danzo to find out, and... well, Danzo is dangerous." Jiraiya thought back to the scroll he'd received a month ago, and shuddered.

"If Danzo were to find out, your kids will disappear soon after. And when you see them again, they'd probably be Danzo's mindless weapons. No, we keep this between us for now. My repairs should hold for a few years, and then I'll have to return again. They should now do what Minato had intended, and allow them to access some of the Kyuubi's chakra without overflowing like it has been lately. Do you trust Naruto to keep this secret?" Jiraiya inquired.

"I love that little cannonball, but no. Tell him, and all his friends will know within days." Genma laughed dryly.

Jiraiya sighed. He closed his eyes for a few moments, thinking. "Alright. So we don't tell Naruto the truth yet. How about Obito. Trustworthy?"

"I think so. Obito really is one of those 'old souls' people joke about. He looks like a kid, but he doesn't really act like a kid all the time. I think he doesn't really know how... But that's not the important thing right now. I think he'll understand if we talk to him." Genma replied.

Jiraiya opened his eyes, and stood up. "Alright. I'll talk to him alone, better not to crowd him for something like this. I'll stick around for a few days to make sure their seals hold up, and then I'm heading out."

* * *

_Shiranui Residence_

The three men returned about an hour after they left. Upon return, the scene before them served to relax them, an air of peace that felt as though nothing in the world was wrong. Obito was craning over a book, occasionally looking away from it to scribble something down on a piece of paper beside him. Kakashi was on the couch, staring at the ceiling while mindlessly petting one of his dogs, and Naruto was running around outside, playing some game with a few more of Kakashi's dogs.

Jiraiya calmly walked towards Obito. "Obito, come with me."

Obito silently followed Jiraiya, doing his best to keep a straight face. Inside his own head, Obito was panicking. _Ohhhh shit._

Jiraiya led Obito into another room. When Obito entered, Jiraiya closed the door, pressing a small seal on the door handle and releasing a tiny burst of chakra to activate it. The placement of this seal did not go undetected by Obito, who was on edge from a fresh load of adrenaline.

"Obito, do you know why I need to speak with you?" Jiraiya said calmly, doing his best to keep this as pacified as possible, given the difficulty of this conversation.

"...No?" Obito responded, trying his best to appear puzzled.

"Look, I'm not gonna beat around the bush. It seems pretty obvious you know about the Kyuubi." Jiraiya stated.

 _Shit, I can't see any way out of this. But how do they know?_ Obito thought, quickly figuring out how to respond and make the most of this frightening situation.

"Kyuu...bi?" Obito feigned confusion.

"Kid, you can drop the act." Jiraiya sighed. "You're clever, but I've been playing this game far longer. I know you know about the Kyuubi sealed within you and your brother. You seemed surprised that Naruto isn't the only jinchuriki, so I'll offer you a bone here. The Kyuubi attacked Konoha on the day you were born. In order to save the village, the Fourth Hokage sealed half of the Kyuubi's chakra into you, and half into your brother."

Obito dropped to the ground, sitting cross-legged with his arms folded. _Huh, this might actually work. Well, it's my only shot, so here goes._

"It's not hard to piece things together, with all the hints around us, you know. The way people look at us like we're some monsters, I had to find out why. I heard some people talking one time about the Kyuubi attack, and then I found out it happened almost six years ago. Then, when I saw a seal on Naruto's belly one night, I realised that someone had sealed it inside of him." Obito lied, hoping it would be convincing. "I couldn't find much out about Bijuu, but how do you split up a Bijuu's chakra? I didn't even think of that being possible, so I was really surprised today when I saw a seal on my body too. So, what did you want to talk to me about?"

Obito smiled, and fought hard to still his shaking while he _desperately_ hoped that they wouldn't find out, or hadn't found out the truth about him.

 _You'd love this kid, old friend,_ Jiraiya mused to himself sadly. _He's probably smarter than you were at his age. Doesn't seem your level of crazy, but I'm sure it's in there somewhere!_

The thought brought a smile to Jiraiya's face, and he relaxed.

"Hey, kid, relax. I know what it's like to be so clever that your friends and family can't understand you. My closest friend was exactly like that, but he wasn't surrounded by people who love him like you are, and the loneliness drove him mad. I won't let that happen to you. Not now, not ever." Jiraiya spoke, hoping the revelation would earn some trust.

Obito breathed, his shoulders dropping as he relaxed. _I think I might actually be in the clear._

"So... You want to make sure I stay quiet about the Kyuubi for now, so I don't drive people away and draw in the wrong attention?" Obito asked, hoping _hard_ that he was playing into what Jiraya seemed to expect him to be like.

"Exactly. I know it will be hard, but that includes Naruto. I can see that he's a good kid, just like you, but we both know he wouldn't be able to keep it secret yet. If it helps you not feel guilty, think of it as keeping him in the dark temporarily to protect him. When you're older, we'll be able to explain it all to him. So, can you do that for me?" Jiraiya asked.

Obito sat in silence for a little while, steadying his breathing and trying to calm his thoughts. "Yes, I suppose I can. But it'll cost you! What's your best offer?" Obito broke into a grin, finally feeling safe again.

Jiraiya got up, and peeled the seal off the door handle. He tossed it to Obito. "Here, a gift from me to you. I hear you've been reading up on fuinjutsu? Figure out how that works and make one of your own, and then I'll personally train you in the use of fuinjutsu. Also, a piece of advice. Find a hobby that gets you stupidly excited. You need to learn to let loose and have fun, it'll do you _worlds_ of good."

Obito looked at the piece of paper in front of him with reverence, and his face lit up. "Alright, deal. You better hold to it, because I'll have this figured out sooner than you expect!"

"I'm sure you will." Jiraiya said, as he opened the door and left.

* * *

_Along the border of the Lands of Fire and Grass_

Uchiha Shisui took in the sight before him. Three corpses, slashed randomly as though stabbed to death by bandits. The cuts looked almost perfectly indiscriminate. _Almost_. From his vantage point among the tall trees, Shisui could also see his mark, a small masked figure, working to cover the tracks that had been made

"You can come out now." The figure down below spoke out.

Shisui emerged, deftly dropping to the ground. "You're getting good at this, Itachi. But watch how you make your cuts. They're still a bit too perfect, a more skilled individual might be able to tell that this was an assassination. Still, you've come a long way since you started."

Itachi grunted. "What are you doing here? This is a solo op."

Looking over his work once more to ensure he'd missed nothing, Itachi gave himself a satisfied nod and leapt up to the branches above, Shisui following. They travelled in silence for a while, until it was broken by Shisui. "Are you doing okay?"

"Sure, why do you ask?" Itachi responded neutrally.

"You just seem a bit... Are you sure this is what you want? Being in the ANBU?"

"I'm just doing what I have to do. So, who sent you?" Itachi asked.

The two continued on in silence for another while.

"Your father. He's worried about you." Shisui finally responded. "You know, don't you?"

"Why do you think my father had me join the ANBU? Of course I know." Itachi answered, looking straight ahead.

Shisui stopped. So did Itachi.

"I can make them all stop." Shisui announced. "This fighting could get out of hand, and innocent people will die."

Itachi looked directly at Shisui for the first time they had been moving together. "How?"

_An underground facility just outside of Konoha, a few days later_

"Interesting. Thank you for your report, Hawk. You may go."


	10. Chapter 8: By the power of Science!

**Credits:** Thanks so much to JujuAllDay for beta-ing this chapter and the last one!

 **Note:** Apologies, it might be a week or so before I publish the next chapter - I have exams now :'(

* * *

_Several months later..._

It had been a month since Uchiha Shisui had disappeared. Everyone had assumed the worst, but a body had yet to be found to prove his death. It could only be assumed, at this point, that he had left Konoha. Whether willingly or not, whether alive or dead, word could not get out that an Uchiha was missing - too many people would jump at the chance to acquire the Sharingan for themselves. A funeral was held the next day.

* * *

At last, the final day of the Academy school year had come. Obito was finally starting to make some headway on Jiraiya's seal. He wasn't surprised to piece together that it was some sort of privacy seal, preventing anyone from looking or listening in to the area it affected. But he still wasn't sure how that area was defined, or the exact way it created such privacy. More than that, he had yet to figure out or learn how to put chakra into even the most basic of seals. He had experimented for weeks, using a storage scroll that had yet to be completed with chakra. Every time he tried a different way of putting chakra into the scroll, it would fail. To make it worse, the failures didn't give Obito any useful information - no hints at why it wasn't working. Nothing that made him feel like he was getting closer to figuring out how to turn writing on a scroll into functioning fuinjustu. So, he had decided to give it a break and instead focused on learning about the hand seals they had been studying at the Academy.

Hand seals were another interesting topic that also got Obito's brain juices juicing. From what Obito had learned so far, it seemed as though certain hand positions could actually create different effects from chakra. But when he thought about it, it seemed so arbitrary that holding your hands together in one shape would create one effect, and another shape would create another. After all, hand seals were just a way of focusing the molding of chakra, and experienced shinobi could forgo hand seals to produce the exact same effect.

That said, Obito realised that when they learned about hand seals in the Academy, they were _told_ that each seal did a specific thing, and that the students who were first to be able to perform an actual ninjutsu technique were all on the more academic side. Obito decided that he _had_ to know, _had_ to find out, if shinobi chakra techniques _absolutely_ required specific hand seals, or if the shapes of hand seals were just arbitrary.

Obito's attention snapped away from his own thoughts when he heard Naruto's voice. "Obito! OOBIIITOOOOOO!"

"Huh?" Obito mumbled.

"Obito, hurry up! We have that big test today, we can't be late!" Naruto urged.

At that, Obito started grinning almost evilly. "Oh yeah, _that_ big test. This is gonna be _fun_!"

Naruto watched apprehensively, as Obito ran to the kitchen and began filling plastic bottles with... vinegar?

"Um... Obito... What are you doing?" Naruto asked warily.

Obito laughed. "Preparing! You know what the test is, we're having a big mock battle between our class and the class above us. They said we can't use any shinobi weapons, but they didn't say anything about barely dangerous mixtures of kitchen chemicals! Oh, this is gonna be fantastic!"

Obito then began pouring baking soda onto plastic wrap, and wrapping it up into pellets that were just the right size to fit through the openings of the bottles, and storing them in a small pouch.

"Dangerous? How?" Naruto asked, still confused.

"Well, remember that time I accidentally spilled some vinegar onto baking soda when helping pops with some cooking? Turns out if you bottle those two up and the foaming has nowhere to go, eventually it just kinda explodes. I'd show you now, but I want to save these all for the battle." Obito explained.

"You're kinda crazy, you know that?" Naruto laughed. "So, you gonna share those bottles with me?"

"Takes one to know one." Obito nodded sagely. After preparing several bottles of vinegar and pellets of baking soda, he handed a few of each to Naruto.

As they walked to the Academy, Obito explained how to use these makeshift projectiles, and made Naruto promise to save them for when their opponents least expected it. "They won't be all that strong, but they'll be great to create distractions. I figured it'd be helpful to prepare some stuff so we don't need to improvise as much."

The two boys continued to plot and chatter until arriving at the Academy. Upon arrival, they noticed that most of their classmates didn't seem nearly as relaxed as the excitable twins.

"Yo, guys, why the long faces?" Naruto yelled.

One girl, Fuku, decided to respond. "Because, idiot, for our end of year testing, Ebisu and Iruka decided that we have to do a written test _and_ fight against the class in the year above 're gonna _demolish_ us!"

"Oh, come on!" Obito quipped. "We'll be fine! You think their class has learned half the stuff we have? Hey Fuku, you knew nothing about chakra at the start of this year, right?"

Fuku nodded. "But what does that have to do with this?"

Obito grinned. The path ahead of him to motivate the class was obvious to him now. This was a group of students who just hadn't realised how far they'd come, and they needed to be shown. "Fuku, you can do the Kawarimi technique. So can _everyone_ in this class. You know when academy students usually _start_ learning the Kawarimi? Part-way through the second year." Obito stopped, waiting for someone to take the bait.

"Yeah? So that means we know the Kawarimi, but so do the class we have to fight. And they'll be bigger and better than us!" Sakura shouted.

"Firstly, I doubt they can _all_ do it. And secondly, we can do it better! We've had Ebisu's crazy taijutsu challenges all year, and we've all gotten pretty good at them. Sure, it won't be easy. Sakura's right, they are bigger and probably stronger than us. But we'll win, because we're smarter, and more creative!" Obito encouraged them.

Not moments after Obito's semi-successful attempt at a pep talk, Ebisu walked into the classroom. "Well said, Obito. Alright class, you have half an hour to strategise however you'd like. I won't help you plan, but if you have any questions of a more _academic_ nature, I'm here to answer those. Iruka will be here shortly, as well. In half an hour, we will go to the training grounds where the battle will be held, and you'll have ten minutes to prepare however you'd like before the battle begins."

"I'll remind you now of the rules. Each student will be given a pair of seals. One will be on a seal tag, and the other will be temporarily applied to your body. If the seal tag is taken off of you, the other tag will summon you out of the training grounds and you will be out of the battle. The objective is to remove the tags from every person in the opposing class. You may not use shinobi weapons. You may use whatever jutsu you are able to perform. If you or someone near you has been injured, your first priority is to remove their seal tag. We will have a medic-nin waiting to make sure nobody is permanently hurt. You are not to intentionally try and cause permanent injury to another individual, although combat is permitted and accidents do happen. If you do hurt someone, remember that it is your responsibility to take their seal tag quickly so we can help them. Is all of this clear?"

"Yes, Ebisu!" The class chorused.

Ebisu moved to the side of the classroom, watching as the students gathered around. It was clear that a handful of the students did not want to rally around Obito's leadership. This was to be expected. Ebisu knew that these students had been told by their parents that Obito and Naruto were some kind of monsters. These students were the outliers, however, as most of the kids either hadn't been given such vague misunderstandings of the twins' secret or just didn't care. Ebisu was particularly proud of that, having made a point of intervening at any signs of bullying between any of his students, allowing them to understand each other as people.

By the time the half hour was up, the class was on board with the plan - bar the few students who decided they would form their own cell and work separately. They had decided to split into two separate groups. One was led by Shikamaru, who was the undefeated class shogi champion, and the other was led by Ino, who was incredibly popular and easy to follow.

When they arrived at the designated battle location, the class took in their surroundings. Training Ground 18 was a simple enough area. There were tall trees spread throughout the large, flat area, and not much else. Because of the trees, it wasn't possible to see particularly far in any direction.

They were met by two unfamiliar shinobi clad in chunin jackets, who were standing ready with paint brushes and sealing tags. Two by two, the students went up to the chunin and had the seals applied to them. When the sealing was done, Ebisu and Iruka wished them luck and disappeared.

* * *

A small crowd of Konoha shinobi gathered just outside of Training Ground 18, chattering amongst themselves. When Ebisu and Iruka arrived, one of the shinobi spoke up.

"Oi, Closet-Perv! What's the deal with watching?" shouted a violet-haired kunoichi clad in an open tan overcoat.

"Anko, I would appreciate it if you stopped calling me that." Ebisu remarked politely, habitually pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "Anyway, here is the plan. Those of you here to watch, stick to the higher branches of the trees where you won't be seen, and keep your presence hidden. You are not to intervene, except in the case of emergency."

Ebisu paused, and then a sly smile appeared on his face. "And since I was not permitted to bet on my own students, I shall be 'taxing' a cut of the betting pool... unless you wanted me to report this highly inappropriate venture to the Hokage?" The gathering of shinobi collectively groaned at Ebisu's remark, knowing they had been scammed.

"You know, I'm starting to think that Ebisu was always pretending to be a stuck up prude as a kid." Genma joked.

The various shinobi moved to place their bets on either class. There was a clear distinction wherein those who knew Ebisu well bet in favour of his students, and the many more shinobi who didn't know him as well placed their bets on what they thought was the obvious choice - the older students. When the betting, managed by the universally trustworthy Gekko Hayate, was complete, the shinobi disappeared, Shunshinning into the forest to watch their day's entertainment.

* * *

_Shikamaru Squad_

During the preparation time, Shikamaru directed his team about the forested area - they were preparing to move forward, take the offensive and attempt to catch their opponents off guard. Naruto and Sasuke were leading the charge, being the most confident of the group. Shikamaru had decided that would be good for morale, when working with a group who were generally afraid of fighting the older students.

As a horn sounded to signal the start of the battle, the squad had been directed into various positions behind trees where they could see each other to silently communicate. During the planning time, Shikamaru had wanted to create a system involving several hand signals for better communication, before being reminded by Ino that, no, _normal_ six year old children would _not_ remember those.

Gradually, the group moved through the forest, dashing behind the trees to stay out of sight, until they heard the sounds of voices.

"This'll be a piece of cake! We've been training to become ninja for two years, and can already use ninjutsu! They got nothing on us! C'mon, let's go!"

"Yosh! We just need to beat them up a little and take of those tags, how hard can this be?"

Upon hearing the voices, Naruto and Sasuke at the front raised open palms behind them, the signal for 'stop'. They waited, silently, for their opponents to get in range.

"Hey, check this out." Naruto whispered to Sasuke behind him, before taking out a bottle of clear fluid from his pouch.

As one of the older boys walked closer, Naruto dropped a plastic pellet inside the bottle and closed it, pointing the bottom of the bottle in the direction of the boy's head. Unfortunately for that boy, Naruto's aim struck true, and he took a bottle to the head, falling to the ground. Sasuke wasted no time, and dashed out to engage in a brawl with another boy remaining.

As Naruto saw the large group of older students nearby, he proceeded with a simple offensive signal. "CHARGE!" He yelled.

In response, Shikamaru tried to direct a group of his classmates to stay behind. Unfortunately, the young shinobi trainees were not as patient or lazy as he, and shot off to join the melee.

In the short brawl that ensued, Sasuke was able to grab two seals. As he was grabbing for a third one, he found his fingers grasping around a small branch instead.

"Hah! You kids think you can take us on! How cute! Come back when you can use some ninjutsu!" The smug-looking almost-victim taunted.

Naruto and Sasuke exchanged a glance, and Naruto looked behind. "Ami, now!"

The purple haired girl picked up a small log from behind, and focused some chakra into her arms before _hurling_ the log through the air. It didn't go fast, and it didn't go far, but it did make it right behind the girl who taunted them before.

"You missed! Impressive trick, but what kind of aim is that?!" The girl laughed. She didn't even have a chance to register the hand seals Ami was performing before Ami was behind her, and her seal ripped off her hip.

Following their plan this time, Shikamaru's squad took that as their cue to disperse in pairs, hoping to split up their foes and take them down. The following fights were tough, and pushed all of Ebisu's students to their limits of chakra use. Although they had been victorious, with a handful of them still remaining on the battlefield, they were too spent to move off and try to assist Ino's squad.

* * *

_Ino Squad_

Almost half an hour had passed since the battle had begun. Obito and Hinata were the last ones standing from Ino's squad. Their classmates had all fought well, making clever use of the one ninjutsu technique they all knew. They had managed to defeat and steal the tags from all but one of their opponents, who single-handedly took out half of Obito's group. The white-eyed boy standing in front of Obito had been able to see through sneak attacks, and was able to use the same Gentle Fist style that Hinata often used. Between his various abilities and his fast reflexes, he was seemingly invincible.

Hinata stepped forward, with a look of conviction in her eyes. She appeared ready to charge forward, and veins around her eyes began bulging - something Obito hadn't ever seen her do before. She seemed like she was about to dash forward, but didn't. Obito waited. The boy across from them also waited, a smug smile spreading across his face.

"Hinata, you know you cannot defeat me. So why even try?" The boy goaded.

Hinata's look of conviction quickly changed to devastation, and she fell on her knees, defeated by the boy's mere words.

"Hinata, don't let him get to you. But, if you don't feel up to it you should get back. Let me deal with him, and be ready to finish him off if I don't win. I'm sure I can at least tire him out!" Obito reassured her, stepping forward to put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

Obito knew that this Hyuuga boy was getting tired, and he had yet to use his secret weapon. Obito reached into his bag, pulling out a bottle from his pouch, alongside a handful of his plastic-wrapped soda pellets.

"Pardon me." Obito announced. "All this fighting has me a bit thirsty!"

The Hyuuga boy watched warily as Obito twisted open the bottle he was holding. Having become friends with Hinata over the past year, Obito knew that this boy who clearly had the Byakugan would be able to see him mold chakra, and be prepared if he tried to use the Kawarimi. Because of this, the boy probably wouldn't be expecting what would come next, and wouldn't have time to react if he figured out what was going on.

"Just gotta put in my vitamin powder!" Obito narrated as he prepared his makeshift weapon, adding a handful of soda pellets. "Then, close it up and give it a good shake so the powder mixes through! It tastes gross if it doesn't mix in, you see!"

After shaking up the bottle, Obito stopped talking and got to work immediately. He rapidly unscrewed the lid _just a tiny bit_ and switched into a loose grip, holding the bottle the base was facing the Hyuuga boy, who had been using this time to gradually edge closer to Obito. Before he even had time to react, there was a loud bang, and the boy was being _pushed backwards_ by the strong force of a bottle slamming into his gut. Obito wasted no time using the Kawarimi to get closer and rip off the boy's tag, not wanting to risk letting him recover. A horn blasted, signalling the end of the match.

"By the power of SCIENCE!" Obito yelled victoriously.

Hinata stared in shock, as her prodigal cousin Neji was defeated by a drink bottle. "Wh...What?" She pushed the words out.

"Vinegar, and baking soda. They only said no _shinobi_ weapons!" Obito grinned.

* * *

"What the FUCK did I just watch?" Hyuuga Hiashi, a _very_ composed man shouted from atop the tree he was perched on in Training Ground 20. He had booked out the training ground for himself so he could watch his daughter and nephew's battle without having to deal with the other onlooking shinobi. At this very moment, he was glad he did, because it could not become public knowledge that he had been so _undignified_. To think that, just moments before, he was feeling proud of his daughter who had actually _tried_ to stand up to someone - let alone her cousin - in a fight for the first time.

* * *

At the end of the day, after the written test had been complete, Ebisu gathered up his students for some final words before they went on break for a couple months. "I want to first congratulate you all on your performance in the battle. You all fought incredibly well, and your teamwork was exemplary. I'm also confident that you have done well in the written test. You should all make the most of the next couple of months. Rest and relax, but don't forget to keep up some light training. And with that, class is finished. I'll see you all back here in two months."

After the students had all trickled out, Ebisu gathered his papers and left the classroom, heading for the staffroom where he would deliver his students' test papers. He found his path blocked by two students who he recognised from the other class. "Tenten, Lee, what can I do for you two?"

* * *

Later that night, after the twins had been put to bed, Genma and Sora set off to the Drunken Kunai, a popular bar amongst many Konoha shinobi. Tonight, it was filled with those who had watched the Academy battle earlier that day. The excited conversations were many and loud, as people discussed the events and implications of what they witnessed.

A couple drinks in, Genma began _howling_ with laughter, which didn't die for a couple of _very_ concerning hours, after which Sora had to knock him out and carry him home.


	11. Chapter 9 - Cursed Seals

**Credits:**

Thanks a bunch to ScribbleGeek for betaing this chapter!

* * *

_Tanzaku_

All Jiraiya wanted was to get drunk and hire the services of a beautiful woman. He had not anticipated, nor wanted, the advances of the too-serious woman dragging him out of the bar. He had not anticipated, nor wanted, the hunch that he felt when seeing her eyes covered with cloth. And he most certainly did not want, at least not on this night, to notice the subtle code-gestures this woman was making with her hands while pretending to 'sweet-talk' him. And he most certainly was _not_ in the mood to talk to this person, about the matter being presented to him.

* * *

_Konoha's Underground_

An older man with a bandage covering his eye sighed, as the teacup in his hand cracked unexpectedly.

* * *

_Konoha_

It had been a week into the Academy break, and Obito knew he was onto something. Finally. He'd realised a few days ago he was going about his hand seal investigation the wrong way. All this thinking about how hand seals might be nothing more than mnemonic devices had to be flawed - after all, how could a cohort of six year olds _all_ make effective use of them if it required deeper understanding of the internal mechanisms? There had to be some kind of inherent component to them.

This led Obito to wonder - how come experienced shinobi could perform jutsu with fewer hand seals? And so he asked Genma and Sora. Constantly. Every time, they both just said that 'it sort of just works'. More prying revealed that 'after they'd practiced enough, they could just do it with fewer seals'. Obito thought for a while that they were trying to avoid giving an answer because he was 'too young to know that stuff', but then it hit him; they _were_ giving him the truth. And so he developed his hypothesis - hand seals have an inherent function for molding chakra to create specific effects, and over time one can develop the chakra equivalent of muscle memory to mold their chakra as required without the seals.

Since nobody else seemed to be thinking about chakra this way, he'd have to wait until he was a more skilled shinobi to test this hypothesis. The theory all seemed to line up, though, and then, it hit him again. He realised why he couldn't get his chakra to go into fuinjutsu tags; the script was a _code_ to guide the chakra, just like hand seals for jutsu. To top it off, the script itself had inherent power, but was a means of channeling more complex chakra molding. That explained why there were different sealing scripts in different shinobi villages - hey all had their own way of channeling the chakra molding!

After shutting himself away for another day and hardly talking to anyone, his moment of victory was interrupted by all three of Naruto, Genma and Sora barging in on him.

"Alright, Obito, enough is enough! You can't just stay cooped up in here all day every day!" Sora said, sounding thoroughly exasperated.

"I did it! Finally!" Obito shouted at the same time.

The three intruders looked at one another, confused.

"Did... what?" Naruto asked.

"Look!" Obito pointed at a sealing scroll on the floor.

Obito grabbed a pillow off his bed, held it to the scroll , and focused his chakra with a basic hand seal. The pillow vanished in a small poof of smoke, while the scroll's ink glowed momentarily.

"Well, I'll be damned! Not even seven years old, and making your own sealing scroll. Whoever got you interested in fuinjutsu must have made a pretty great decision, hey?" Sora smiled, wearing a face of pretend self-interest. Genma elbowed him in the gut.

"Pretty decent timing, too. I heard a certain old fuinjutsu master is passing through town right now!" Genma announced.

Obito looked up suddenly. "Jiraiya's here? Crap! If you see him, tell him to stay in town for just a couple more days. Tell him I've almost finished his challenge! Crap! Crap! I need to get back to work!"

Sora rolled his eyes. "Great. We came here to bail him out, and now he's gonna stay inside even longer! Nice going, _dear_." Genma elbowed him again.

* * *

_Uchiha Compound_

"...and so I've barely spoken to him since our break started! My own twin brother!" Naruto moaned.

 _I guess he got that from his father,_ Mikoto thought to herself and smiled.

"Man, that's so lame! I finally convinced Itachi to give us a lesson in shuriken-jutsu and Obito skips out for some dusty old scrolls?" Sasuke commiserated. "Oh well, his loss."

"Hey, Aunty Mikoto, would it be alright if I stay here for the next couple days? It's kinda boring at home, especially with Obito holing himself up _all day_!" Naruto asked, and then forgot his politeness almost immediately after making the request.

"Sure, dear, as long as your parents are fine with it, you're always welcome here." Mikoto responded kindly.

* * *

_Hyuuga Compound_

Hinata looked at the mat covering the floor below her, trying to calm herself by finding patterns in the design - patterns she knew well already from her numerous past attempts at the same calming technique. And yet she still found herself shaking slightly, despite her best attempts to still her agitated body and mind.

"Do you know why I have summoned you here, daughter?" Hiashi asked, his voice booming with a confidence Hinata knew she would never achieve herself.

"Um, n-n-no?" Hinata quivered, hoping that her father would say what he needed to and let her go quickly.

"I wanted to tell you that I'm impressed with your performance at the Academy lately." Hiashi spoke neutrally, his intent completely unreadable.

Hinata looked up in shock. Her father's face was completely blank and yet terrifying. She was sure that this was some trick, and she would be told moments later that she was not good enough.

"You still have a long way to go, but now there is a small chance you'll make a competent clan head. Which is better than no chance, as it was just a year ago, " Hiashi declared.

 _And there it is._ Hinata thought to herself sadly, her doubts being confirmed as she felt her tiny ray of hope be shot down. _Why would I ever think otherwise?_

"Yes, f-father, thank you, " Hinata stammered out.

For a short while, she didn't move, or speak, and neither did Hiashi.

Hinata thought she heard her father sigh, and then he dismissed her.

* * *

_Ichiraku Ramen_

Obito looked around, observing the small ramen stand before him. _Huh, something about this place seems familiar._

His thoughts were suddenly ripped away by the voice of the man beside him. "So, kid, what've you got for me?"

Obito scratched his head nervously, the stress markedly obvious. "I do understand how the seal works, but I spend days trying to figure out how to activate it, but the chakra manipulation is too complicated!"

Jiraiya's eyes thinned, just barely perceptibly. _Damn_ , Jiraiya mused to himself, _he actually figured it out? He's certainly yours, Minato._

"Well, the deal was you had to recreate the seal if you want me to take you on as my apprentice, and you failed. So, why are we here if you can't even make a simple privacy seal?" Jiraiya spoke harshly.

"I probably won't even have enough chakra to make that seal for years, but I know how it works! I did half of what you told me, so can't you, like, half train me?" Obito asked hopefully.

"I'll tell you what. I'm not sticking around long enough to teach you anything right now. Instead, you have until we finish eating to ask me whatever you want, and if you're lucky I'll give you some answers." Jiraiya offered neutrally.

"Actually, I have a question for Mister Ichiraku. Sorry to be so blunt, but most of the village seem to hate me. Are you sure it's fine for me to be here?" Obito asked.

The man chuckled, and turned back around to attend to his cooking even as he responded. "Well, the way I see it, you're just a clever kid, and you ain't done nothing wrong. And, you're buying my ramen, so you're certainly welcome here."

"Huh. Fair enough. Thanks, Mister Ichiraku!" Obito smiled. "Then, Jiraiya, I guess one of my biggest questions for now is, what if a seal that depends on its inputs is placed and then the inputs change? Like, your privacy seal works when it's placed in a physically enclosed space. So what would happen if someone even poked a hole in the wall?"

Jiraiya laughed. "Well, every seal beyond the basics has its weaknesses. A good seal-smith doesn't leave weaknesses that are easy to find, and a good seal _breaker_ knows that they rarely have time to find the weaknesses. And the _best_ seal-smiths don't hand out their best seals, especially to naive children. The answer to your question is yes, the perimeter would break. However, any half-decent fuinjutsu user would make their perimeter seals with a barrier or a better defined space..."

Jiraiya seemed to taper off, as though interrupted by a thought, and then put down his chopsticks.

"Sorry kid, we're gonna have to end it here for now. Hey, next time I'm in town, come find me and show me a seal you've made. I'll give you some tips. Teuchi, could you pack the food to go? I've gotta take the kid home now," Jiraiya said hurriedly.

Once the duo had their leftover food packaged up, Jiraiya squatted on the ground. "Alright, kid, get on. I've got places to be so we're taking a shortcut."

Obito hesitantly obliged, and not a moment after he had grabbed onto Jiraiya's back they were up in the air, soaring over rooftops.

* * *

 _Sencha Town_ , _Land of Tea_

Tsunade woke too early, to the powerful glare of sunlight beaming directly at her face. Queasy and disoriented, she raised a hand to her eyes to shield them from the light, and noticed a figure with a huge mess of white hair standing by the window. Sluggishly, she raised a hand to her head and focused healing chakra into it, soothing her headache and beginning to alleviate the hangover.

"Ugh, do I even want to ask how you found me?" Tsunade groaned, internally debating whether to sacrifice the walls to get rid of this pest.

"Oh come on. You're not hard to find. The only reason people don't go looking for you is because they know better," Jiraiya laughed.

"Unlike you. Get out. Now." Tsunade began pushing herself up off the bed with one hand, continuing to heal her hangover with the other.

Jiraiya walked over to the nearby sink to fill a glass of water for Tsunade. "I have proof, you know? All these years, I was right about him."

Tsunade grumbled and begrudgingly accepted the glass of water. "And I suppose you want me to hear you out about this? And you want my help? Well, tough. You're not the only one who's been busy at work. I have my own projects to attend to."

Jiraiya took out several seal tags from his pouch, and began placing them around the room. "Like the young ailing Uchiha boy?"

"And how exactly would you know about _that_?" Tsunade demanded.

"I have my sources. You'll definitely want to hear me out, then. Itachi is compromised. I can help. You help me with Orochimaru, and I'll help you with Itachi." Jiraiya sat down cross-legged, and began unrolling a small scroll. "Look at this curse seal. What do you see?"

Tsunade sighed, and peered over at the scroll, taking some time to examine it. "...Fuck. So, which one ended up with that monstrosity?"

"This is Orochimaru's. It's highly likely that the young Uchiha boy has a very similar seal somewhere on his body. You can go and heal the boy's disease, and he'll tell Danzo about you. You're gonna need me to remove the seal," Jiraiya explained. "But have a look in this corner here. Remove or break the seal somehow, and Danzo will know. Meaning if we disable one, he'll probably move to secure the other."

Jiraiya took a deep breath, and cleared his mind of all distractions. "So, here's my plan..."

* * *

_Uchiha District_

Hawks soaring above the Uchiha District was a fairly common sight. Occasionally, one would fly down and deliver a message to a member of the clan. While Mikoto was taking a rare moment to relax in peace on her home's rooftop, she spotted a hawk with a particular colouring of its belly flying overhead. The bird began a dive towards her, and she put out her arm for it to land. She promptly took the scroll tied to its leg, and sent the hawk off.

Taking the usual precautions, she pocketed the scroll, and moved to a secure location to take the message.

Once she'd finished reading through the scroll, she burned it.

"You picked the wrong family to mess with, Danzo," she whispered to herself, and then returned to continue about her day.

* * *

_A few weeks later_

Itachi's solo mission was going perfectly smoothly. He was on his way back to Konoha, having made a clean kill on his latest target. As he was running, a pair of red Sharingan eyes appeared in front of him, and everything went black.

A wounded Jiraiya hauled the unconscious snakelike figure of Orochimaru into a dimly lit cave, and dropped the body to the ground.

"Took you long enough, you old fart." Jibed a voice from within the cave.

Jiraiya entered to be met by a shadowy figure with red eyes, sitting beside the supine body of a young boy. "Slippery bastard wasn't easy to take down, even with all the openings he was leaving. I'm not sure what's scarier - the potency of this fucking curse seal, or Orochimaru's ability to resist it. Where's Tsunade?"

"On her way. While we're waiting, give me details. How long am I guarding Itachi after this, and when do I clue in Fugaku?" asked the voice that was Mikoto Uchiha.

"Give me two weeks and I'll bring this guy back. I know you trust Fugaku, and so do I. You should tell him as soon as you return. Covering for this whole operation is a bigger burden than one person can handle. Besides, Fugaku will need some time to get his affairs in order." Jiraiya answered.

The two continued discussing specifics until Tsunade arrived, followed by her assistant Shizune. "Alright, what are we doing first?"

"We have about two hours until Itachi will be expected back in Konoha. Your procedure takes three, and mine will take half an hour. Orochimaru is more volatile, so we deal with him first. Are you all clear on how this will work?" Jiraiya asked.

"You'll alter the seal, after which I'll cut off his chakra supply to the seal's location. As soon as you remove the seal completely, I restore flow. Simple enough? Mikoto will be lookout, and Shizune is my backup. Well, what are we waiting for? Let's get this over with!" Tsunade exclaimed, rolling up her sleeves.

Jiraiya got to work, setting out a brush and some ink. He removed Orochimaru's shirt and rolled the man over onto his back, revealing a cursed seal in the shape of a scaly network of interlocked triangles. After Jiraiya painted some small symbols in a circle around the cursed seal, they faded away, and the triangles expanded out into a large mass of fuinjutsu script.

A while later, Jiraiya called Tsunade over, and she cut off the chakra flow to his back. Jiraiya then began rapidly scrawling all over Orochimaru's skin. The fuinjustu script began to glow brighter and brighter until it was almost blinding, and then vanished.

"Alright, Tsunade, restore the flow!" Jiraiya shouted with a strength of conviction.

"Done. I've also sedated him, so he'll stay unconscious for a few more hours. Now, let's get to work on Itachi. Shizune!" Tsunade summoned Shizune over, who stepped beside Itachi and unrolled a kit of surgical supplies.

After Shizune had created a sterile field over Itachi's chest, Tsunade stepped in and grabbed a scalpel. She took a deep breath, calming herself. Her face hardened, as though she pushed all emotion out of her mind. Tsunade made the first cut, and made a barely audible gasp as some blood surfaced on Itachi's chest. She took another deep, calming breath and continued to cut.

As Tsunade began to finish and close up Itachi's chest, the sounds of shouting and grunting could be heard from outside.

"Should we go check?" Shizune asked.

"Hah! Have you met Mikoto before?" Tsunade laughed. "I almost feel sorry for whoever it is Danzo sent here."

Shizune's eyes widened, and she fought the temptation to go and see exactly what Tsunade meant.

"Jiraiya, you're up!" Tsunade shouted, calling Jiraiya over to begin working on Itachi's cursed seal.

"Is it safe to roll him over?" Jiraiya asked.

"Are you doubting my medical skills?" Tsunade growled.

"Right. Of course not." Jiraiya sighed, and stepped in to roll over Itachi's body.

Jiraiya began to draw the same initial symbols on Itachi's back, and the cursed seal expanded outwards. He had to take some time to look over it and work on the differences from Orochimaru's seal.

"Well, it's definitely good that we're taking the seal out after treating the illness. It looks like Danzo had no idea about the illness when he put this seal on Itachi. While that did make the illness worse, it's also made it easier for me to exploit the weaknesses. Shizune, go and tell Mikoto that we'll need another half hour, and then we'll be finished," Jiraiya said confidently.

Shizune got up and stepped outside of the cave, and gasped. "Holy shit, they weren't kidding! These poor sods look like they don't even know what hit them..."

* * *

_Uchiha District, two weeks later_

"Sasuke, hurry up!" Naruto yelled. "You can't be late for this!"

"I know, I know! I'm coming!" Sasuke yelled back from within his room.

Finally, Sasuke emerged, dressed in his most formal Uchiha attire consisting of a black t-shirt and white shorts. At least the shirt had the Uchiha emblem upon its back. Waiting for him were his immediate family minus his father, as well as the Uzumaki twins and their parents.

The group set off to a public square outside the Hokage's tower. The Uchihas moved to the temporary podium to stand with Fugaku, who was preparing to address the crowd of people gathered. His usual Uchiha clan attire was hidden beneath a white haori, and his face shadowed by a red and white hat.

Beside Fugaku, Hiruzen Sarutobi began addressing the crowd. "Thank you for gathering here today. As you all know, I'm getting old." Some laughter from the crowd. "And it's time once again to pass the mantle of the Hokage to the next generation. It is with great pride that I pass the position on to one of Konoha's finest shinobi, Fugaku Uchiha. May you serve well, and live to retire like me."

Hiruzen chuckled at his own joke. The crowd applauded briefly, and then quieted down so that the new Hokage could speak.

"Thank you, Hiruzen, for your kind words. I am honoured to take on this position, and vow to serve Konoha to the best of my ability." Fugaku declared. He continued his speech for several more minutes, after which the crowd slowly dispersed.

Once Fugaku and his family descended from the platform, Naruto and Obito ran up to intercept Sasuke.

* * *

_Hokage's Office, a few hours later_

"You're naive fools, the lot of you! I hope you know what you're doing. I've struck the balance with Danzo for _years_ , and now you come and drive him out, drive _me_ out!" Hiruzen shouted.

"In fairness, gramps, I have retrograde amnesia, so I take no responsibility for this." Orochimaru smirked. "But let's be serious. Your _truce_ with Danzo was unsustainable. In the couple weeks since I regained control of myself, I've learnt enough about what was going on. If you had kept going as you did, it's obvious that Danzo was going to have the Uchiha clan driven out or slain. Danzo was toying with you, and the whole village. You've gotten soft."

"Calling us naive... What kind of bullshit is this, Hiruzen? I don't care how much influence Danzo has. Orochimaru is right, you've gone soft. As if what happened to Orochimaru and _my own son_ isn't evidence enough of how bad Danzo's gotten! On top of that, I have good reason to believe that he murdered one of our most promising young clan members, Shisui. And under your leadership, he would have just gotten away with all of it. How bad did it need to get before you decided he'd gone too far?" Fugaku shouted furiously. "Get out, now!"

Hiruzen opened the office door and stepped out, shaking his head in frustration.

"Um, Fugaku?" Jiraiya cut in, after Hiruzen was gone. "Actually, about Shisui..."

Jiraiya stepped to the window and opened it. A short moment later, a figure appeared before the group - a young man, wearing a monk's attire, with eyes covered in bandaging. "Long time no see, uncle? Ahaha, except I guess it's still no see in my case..."

"So, as I was saying, Fugaku, about Shisui. As you can see, he's alive and well, with the exception of his eyes being gone. Danzo took them - he probably wanted the powers of the young man's Mangyeko Sharingan for himself. Oh, don't look at me like that, the secrets of your Sharingan are still safe. What you should be more concerned about is that we now have a powerful missing-nin on the run with access to the Kotoamatsukami."

"...Fuck." Fugaku blanched.

* * *

As the village settled back into its regular routine, the time came for the twins to return to the Academy for their second year of shinobi training. As they arrived at their classroom, they took the time to mingle with their classmates, many of whom neither had seen in over a month.

A few minutes later, Ebisu entered the classroom and asked them all to settle down. "Welcome back, class. I hope you've all had a nice break, and kept some training up. Before we begin our second year of classes, I have two people to introduce to you. You put on a great show at the end of last year - so much so that two of your upperclassmen have actually requested to join our class. Come in now!"

Two students walked in, and introduced themselves.

"Hello everyone! My name is Rock Lee, and I look forward to studying with you in the coming years! I discovered last year that I will never be able to use any ninjutsu or genjutsu, but I still want to become a strong shinobi. After fighting with your class, I knew that this was where I must be in order to achieve my goal, so I am incredibly grateful to the wonderful Ebisu-sensei for allowing me this opportunity!" The boy spoke loudly, and bowed as he introduced himself.

"Uh, my name is Higarashi Tenten. I want to become a strong kunoichi like the Sannin, Tsunade. Like Lee, I was really amazed by how your class beat ours even though we're all a year older than you, and so I had to try and get into this class. I'm so glad for this opportunity!" The girl did not bow, but flushed a little with embarrassment.

The two went and found seats in the classroom, and Ebisu began their lesson.


	12. Chapter 10 - Graduation

_Five Years Later_

Obito stepped into the classroom, the room empty aside from himself, Ebisu and Iruka, both of whom were seated at a desk with numerous hitai-ate set in front of them.

"Alright, Obito. Your task is to make two clones. That's all, whenever you're ready?" Iruka explained briefly.

"Actually? That's it? Seriously?" Obito asked, gobsmacked.

Ebisu sighed. "The graduation exam we're administering is the traditional genin graduation exam, which as you are probably already aware is well below the ability of your entire class."

Obito laughed, and formed a Ram seal, focusing his chakra carefully. He hadn't needed the Tiger and Snake seals in over a year. With a little focus, Obito executed the Clone technique, covering the room in dozens of clones. Each clone was wearing a different outfit. A few of the clones spread around the room were also transformed into various other individuals Obito knew, just for fun. One clone even seemed to be doing a handstand on thin air. It was amazing what you could do with such a simple technique.

Iruka laughed nervously. "Well, I guess that does meet the requirements, you little showoff! Well, congratulations. You're now a Genin of Konoha!"

Obito accepted the hitai-ate from Iruka, thanked his teachers for six incredible years, and left the classroom. On his way out, he gave a passing high five to Naruto, who was next in line to take the test. Tying his new hiati-ate around his forehead, Obito stood by the door of the classroom and pressed his ear to the cracks to listen in.

"But I can't do the normal clone technique! You know that, Ebisu! Can I at least use a different clone technique?" Naruto groaned loudly inside the classroom, to which Obito quietly chuckled.

"Naruto, you should note that I said you need to create two clones. I didn't say what time of clones." Ebisu responded.

"Yes! Alright! I've been working on this for a while, and finally got it to work!" Naruto exclaimed. "But I'm still not used to how gross it is."

"Well done Naruto! Two earth clones! Congratulations on passing your graduation exam!" Iruka exclaimed.

Obito backed away from the door just in time for Naruto to barge out, proudly toting a hitai-ate on his forehead.

* * *

After all the students had completed their graduation exam, Ebisu and Iruka called them all back in. They had a short celebration to mark the graduation of all 27 students in the class. After the celebration, Ebisu told them they had one week off, and then they would meet back here to receive their team assignments. Once dismissed, the twins set off alongside a few of their closer friends - Sasuke, Hinata and Sakura - to celebrate at Ichiraku's.

At the homely ramen stand, the group were greeted by Ayame, Teuchi's daughter. Ayame had started working at the stand a couple of years back, and always made pleasant conversation with Naruto and Obito when they came by. After each of the freshly ordained genin had ordered their ramen of choice, the celebrations began.

"Here's to all of us moving another step closer to our goals! You better watch out, I'll be the Hokage before you know it!" Naruto cheered, visibly shivering with excitement. "Now you all have to do it too! What goals are each of you closer to?"

"One day I'm gonna make a name for myself that isn't just 'the kid Uchiha' or 'Itachi's brother'. I'm just so sick of people looking at me and not seeing, well, me!" Sasuke [Insert said word here]. Naruto cheered enthusiastically, the others not getting into it as much.

"I'll keep on studying so that I can revolutionise medical care in Konoha, and one day maybe I'll even surpass Tsunade!" Sakura smiled, staring dreamily at the ceiling.

"I want to become the head of the Hyuuga clan and change it for the better..." Hinata spoke softly.

Obito didn't say anything for a while, and they all looked at him. Even Teuchi turned away from his cooking to give him an expectant look. "Oh, fine. I want to change our medical care to include looking after peoples' mental wellbeing as well as their physical injuries."

Even as Obito seemed to finish speaking, the group stared at him as though they weren't satisfied with his answer.

"...And work with Orochimaru doing crazy science stuff." Obito conceded, garnering some laughter from the group.

"Well, cheers to you kids! You're already fine young shinobi, and I'm sure you'll only grow to be even more impressive - each and every one of you." Teuchi said warmly. "Now, I would love to say that the food is on the house by way of celebration, but I do have a business to run. So, since I'm feeling generous, you're all only paying half today! Enjoy the food!"

The group laughed as Teuchi and Ayame served them their bowls of ramen, and they dug in.

"Hey, how easy was that graduation exam, huh? After everything we've learnt these years, we probably could have passed that exam a few years ago!" Naruto said jovially.

"Says the guy who can't even make a single clone!" Sakura teased. "How did you graduate, anyway?"

"I can too! Just... not a normal clone." Naruto admitted. "I made earth clones instead!"

"What? I don't believe you! Earth isn't even your chakra nature!" Sakura retorted.

"Can confirm, he's been working on them at home for a while, tracking dirt everywhere. And here I am, unable to do anything with nature transformations!" Obito complained.

Sakura eyed both twins suspiciously, and then turned back to her food.

"So how do you think Lee graduated? He had a hitai-ate like the rest of us." Hinata asked.

"Hah, I bet that musclehead just ran so fast that he created afterimages or something!" Sasuke joked, getting a giggle from Naruto.

"You gotta admit, though, there's nobody in our class who can match him when it comes to taijutsu. It's pretty cool, actually!" Naruto agreed.

The group continued reminiscing about their years in the academy, and discussing their various plans for their week of freedom before the team assignments. Once they finished eating, they paid for their food and set off to their various homes.

* * *

Once they arrived home, Obito invited Naruto to his room to discuss 'something important'. Once they were both in Obito's room, Obito took out a couple of sealing tags, and placed them on opposite walls, priming them with a good half of his chakra.

"Now we have some privacy, I need to tell you something." Obito said seriously.

"Uh... Sure?" Naruto asked, confused.

"I wished I could have told you this way sooner, but this sort of secret is something that could be dangerous in the wrong hands. I wanted to wait until we graduated. Not because I don't trust you, I do! But in a world where shinobi exist, academy students aren't really equipped to guard secrets if someone powerful wanted to find out." Obito explained. "I also want you to know that you're the first person I'm telling this to."

Naruto stared. "Um, what could be _that_ dangerous of a secret?"

"When we were born, I did not have the mind of a newborn child. I lived another life, in a world different to ours. It might sound crazy, but I remember things. Not much specific, but I can remember all sorts of general things about my old life - who I was, what I did, what I believed in. From the moment I was born into this life, I have still been the person I was in my past life. It was frustrating, and scary at first, but I'm comfortable with it now - this is my life now. I am, without a shred of doubt, Uzumaki Obito. But there's more than the fact that as an infant I had the mind of a thirty year old. This is the bit that's especially secret, and that I especially wanted you to know," Obito took in a deep breath, and continued. "When we were born, I also somehow had some knowledge about this world. Specifically, I knew about you - or, well, a version of you. One who didn't grow up with a family. I don't know why or how I knew this, but I did. I know this is a lot to take in, but there is another thing I want to tell you. We can talk about the other thing tonight, when our dads are home."

Naruto stood frozen, seemingly overwhelmed. For a while, there was uncomfortable silence. Obito sat patiently, and waited for Naruto to respond - he knew that it was important to let Naruto respond however he needed to.

"How do I respond to that?" Naruto finally asked, the stress visible across the entirety of his body language.

"Do you want time to think about it? Do you want to ask anything? I know this is a lot, but you're my twin brother and I didn't want to keep something like this from you." Obito said calmly.

"Um. It's just all a bit crazy. How did you manage to keep that bottled up for so long?" Naruto asked.

"With great difficulty, believe me. I'm so glad to have finally told you, and I hope it doesn't change things between us," Obito replied.

"I think - You _are_ my brother. When you say you couldn't tell me until now, well, it makes sense, I guess. Can I ask you things about this every now and then?" Naruto inquired, seeming to settle down.

"Of course! Do you wanna come help me make dinner? I want to make food as a pre-emptive peace offering, because not only am I going to tell them all of this tonight, there are some things I want you to know that they might not be ready yet to tell you."

* * *

"...What." Sora deadpanned. "You're a genin now, it's time to put your pranks to the side, boys."

Obito rolled his eyes. "Wait, you mean you didn't see proof of this when you entered my mind back when Jiraiya visited the first time?"

Noting how Sora's eyes widened with apparent shock, Obito continued. "I hold absolutely nothing against you for it. Once I realised that you had used your clan technique on me, I also realised why. Seriously, it's fine. Anyway, I give you my full consent to go in and see for yourself now."

Genma looked on, unsure of what to say. Sora sighed. "You understand that I'll be able to see things you might want kept private? Last time, I made sure to ignore anything that wasn't relevant to the situation at hand, but I won't be able to do that this time around."

"It's fine," Obito asserted. "You're my family, and I trust you. This is the easiest way to prove that I'm not making any of this up."

Sora gave in, and reached over the table to put his hand on Obito's head. The two stayed that way for about half a minute, until Sora pulled back his hand. "Well, shit. On both counts."

"Both counts?" Genma inquired.

"Yeah," Sora sighed. "This is gonna be an interesting evening."

Obito smiled. "Now that we've graduated, I think it's time that you tell us about the night we were born? I know most of it, but it's not fair to Naruto to keep this from him any longer. You two, of all people, should recognise that Naruto is ready."

* * *

"I have WHAT inside of me?"

* * *

"THE FOURTH HOKAGE?"

* * *

After Naruto's theatrics ran their course, the atmosphere of the conversation also calmed down. Sora and Genma began to understand that their family was not at all torn apart by these revelations, and grew comfortable with answering their boys' questions. They discussed the practicalities of what it means to be a jinchuriki, in terms of their safety and political value. They also discussed the idea that the boys would be able to, under suitable guidance, train to use the powers of the Kyuubi.

"We're going to need to report this conversation to the Hokage. At the same time, we'll see if we can convince him to organise your training. In the meantime, I hope you both understand not to share this information with your friends. Some of them may already know, since this was a poorly kept secret, but it will be dangerous for word to get too far out about this." Genma explained.

"Yeah, yeah, sure. But what about our mom? What was she like?" Naruto asked excitedly.

Genma sighed. "How about I tell you about her over some dessert. Ice cream?"

* * *

The next day, the boys were woken early and dragged off to the Hokage's office. Waiting for them were the Hokage and the three Sannin. The sun was barely up, and Obito felt robbed by the injustice of having to be here so early on the first day after graduation.

"So, I hear you two have been filled in on your situation?" Fugaku asked dryly.

"Yeah, so uncle Fugaku, when can we start training to use our jinchukari powers?" Naruto beamed.

Fugaku's forehead fell into his palm. "Naruto. In this office, you will refer to me as the Hokage. And I'm disinclined to allow you to train with your _jinchuriki_ abilities until you have been promoted to chunin. I believe that you will benefit from having real experience before dabbling with such powers."

"Ok, but Hokage- _sama_ ," Obito grinned, "I already have enough fuinjutsu knowledge to open our seals enough that we could begin to teach ourselves! But, of course, I'm not quite experienced enough to ensure the _safety_ of such training. What could possibly happen if two eager genin had access to such a possibility without good guidance? It sounds terribly risky!"

Orochimaru chuckled at that. "Atta boy!" He said under his breath, copping a slap to the back of his head from Tsunade.

"Don't encourage him, you slithery bastard!" Tsunade growled.

"Well, I guess we have no choice then. Right, Fugaku?" Jiraiya laughed.

The Hokage smiled unnaturally, striking fear into the hearts of children everywhere. "Well, I do see there is no choice here. So, here is what will happen. I will organise for the suitable individuals to be available to help you with your training, and it will begin in two weeks. However, I forbid you from using your jinchuriki abilities outside of training until you have been promoted to chunin. I will make no other offer, and if you break this rule, I will _personally_ prevent you from using these abilities until I deem fit. And believe me, _I can do that_."

The twins grumbled an agreement, and were dismissed from the Hokage's office.

"Obito, could I borrow you for the morning?" Orochimaru asked before they had a chance to leave.

"Oh, and I'll take Naruto with me." Jiraiya stated.

* * *

Obito followed Orochimaru to a forested training ground. Neither of them said anything on the way, and Obito was beginning to become apprehensive. As much as he admired and respected Orochimaru, the man did have a somewhat skewed sense of, well, everything.

"Obito. You have graduated from the academy, and I wish to give you a personal reward. However, it is not easily given, and must be earned." Orochimaru smirked. He took out a large scroll, and unrolled it, to reveal a _long_ series of names and finger prints.

"A summoning contract? So, what do I have to do for you to give it to me?" Obito asked, wary of what chaos could possibly be abound.

"Oh, you have to do nothing. I'll give it to you here and now," Orochimaru cackled. "You see all these names? These are all of the people who signed this contract. Do you see how many of them are faded, and only some signatures are clear? What do you think that might mean?"

Obito stopped to think. Looking at the available information - there was no clear pattern in the order of clear versus faded signatures. There were a couple clear ones right at the very start, which was evidence against the clear signatures being those who are still alive. There were, however, very few clear signatures, and nothing that seemed to unite them. Obito noticed that Orochimaru's own signature was not present.

"Summons have to willingly agree to help their summoners, correct?" Obito asked, and Orochimaru nodded. "So, are the clear signatures the ones that received that consent?"

Orochimaru nodded again. "Very good. As you can see, _very_ few people have succeeded here. If you can succeed, these summons will be yours to make use of. Now, you have a lot of chakra and excellent control, so I have no doubt you will be successful in summoning this being. When you're ready, please go ahead and sign the contract. I will teach you the summoning jutsu, and then you can begin your trial."

Obito signed the contract with his blood as instructed. After memorising the sequence of hand seals, he performed the summoning jutsu, and the _being_ appeared in a puff of smoke. It seemed to be a bird of some kind. It had white plumage, a long neck and a yellow beak. Most disconcerting were the _teeth_ on its _tongue_ that Obito could see when it opened its mouth to produce a loud honking noise. The goose flapped its wings a few times, and then snatched up the contract scroll in its mouth. Then, it turned and _bolted_.

"I... uh... what?" Obito stammered, staring dumbfoundedly as it disappeared amongst the trees.

"Well, go on! From what I know, your trial is to get back the scroll and keep it. If you can do that, rumour has it this powerful summons will be yours to work with. Off you go, then!" Orochimaru shooed Obito away, and then disappeared in a puff of smoke.

* * *

It did not take Obito long to find the goose again. The loud honking kind of gave away its position. It was actually kind of impressive how the goose could continue to honk with a large scroll in its mouth. Obito chased it for a while before he was eventually able to tug the scroll away from the goose. Obito stopped, and so did the bird.

"So? Is this good enough for you?" Obito asked wearily.

The goose honked. Obito relaxed, and let down his guard. Which was exactly when the bird snatched the scroll back again, and bolted. And so began the next few hours of chasing back and forth. Obito had tried running up trees. Not only could the goose simply just fly up, it could also run up trees. Obito also discovered that the bird could run on water, when Obito tried to escape down a river.

Out of sheer irritation, Obito created about twenty genjutsu clones that ran off carrying illusionary scrolls in different directions. And yet, the goose was following the real him. _So it can tell which is real?_

And then, Obito realised he was overthinking the problem when there was a much simpler solution. Reaching into his pouch, Obito grabbed a blank tag and bit the tip of his forefinger. Using the blood, he drew up a basic barrier seal that was designed to block physical access to a small area - big enough to fit one person. As soon as it was ready, he slammed the tag to the ground and activated it, and a shimmering barrier formed around him.

The goose halted in front of the barrier, inquisitively looking around. It circled the barrier a couple times, and tried to peck at it - which only made the barrier ripple a bit. It stood there, staring at Obito. Seconds turned into minutes, and as it turned into an hour, the goose started honking. Slowly, at first, with a predictable rhythm. And then it sped up. And slowed down. And stopped. And then started. And then continued with the occasionally off-rhythm honk. All the while, maintaining direct eye contact.

_Well I'll be damned. A bird is attempting psychological warfare._

The infuriatingly inconsistent honking continued for almost half an hour. What the bird hadn't realised was that Obito had long since drawn an addition to his barrier seal to block out noises.

The goose continued trying different things until the sun began to set. Obito was ever so grateful for the concept of food pills, or he would have given up to go get food long ago. And so, as the setting sun had nearly sunk all the way below the horizon, the bird disappeared in a puff of smoke. Skeptical but hopeful, Obito unrolled the scroll in his arms, and looked to see that his signature had set into clear lines of black, like the signatures of the scarce few successful summoners. He'd won.

Obito warily removed his barrier, and when he was sure the goose wasn't about to appear next to him again and snatch the scroll, he headed home.


	13. Chapter 11 - Team Assignments

"Isn't it boring being stuck around all us kids when you have the mind of an adult?" Naruto asked out of nowhere one afternoon.

"Need I remind you who won The Great Prank Wars?"

* * *

Later that evening, Naruto appeared out of nowhere with another stray question. "Are our dads really parents to you?"

Obito turned to give his brother a shocked look before answering honestly. "They've supported us both constantly, so absolutely."

* * *

"So, what kind of person were you in your past life?"

"I was a teacher. Like Ebisu, only better."

"Huh. That explains _a lot._ "

* * *

The day had come and the newly graduated genin were gathering in their old classroom. While they waited for their teachers to arrive, they debated where was the coolest or most practical place to wear their hitai-ate, and theorized about who would be on a team with who. Most people predicted that the twins would be on a team together, and many of the girls in the class seemed adamant in their desire to be on a team with Sasuke. Sasuke, however, didn't return these affections and seemed to retreat within himself protectively whenever the girls made advances towards him.

Just as the class were making bets on what would happen with the handful of individuals who were training as medic-nin, Iruka walked in. "Alright class, the time has come for you to begin your duties as shinobi of Konohagakure. As you know, you will initially serve in four-person cells, with a more experienced shinobi leading your team and guiding your continued training. We've put a great deal of thought into planning each of the teams, and I trust that there will be no complaints."

Iruka pulled out a small scroll from his pouch, and began reading out the teams. Obito sat patiently, waiting for his name to be called. He understood that this team of his would be who he would spend a large amount of time with from here on, and so hoped that he would be put in a team with people who he already got along with.

"Team 6: Uzumaki Obito, Uchiha Sasuke and Hyuuga Hinata."

Although happy to be on a team with two close friends, Obito was a little bit disappointed to not be in the same team as Naruto. It wasn't unexpected, since having two jinchuriki on the same team would have been a huge risk for the village. Some whispering built up amongst those of the class who understood the political implications of this team - having a member of the main line of both the Uchiha and Hyuuga clans in one team was a big deal.

"Your sensei will be Mitarashi Anko." Iruka added, and then continued announcing the teams.

"Next, Team 7: Inazuka Kiba, Aburame Shino and Higarashi Tenten. Your sensei will be Hatake Kakashi."

"Team 8: Rock Lee, Haruno Sakura and Uzumaki Naruto. Your sensei will be Might Guy."

"Team 9: Souzen Ami, Muhara Fuki and Uzuruno Hisaro. Your sensei will be Kaito Shizune."

"Team 10: Yamanaka Ino, Nara Shikamaru and Akamichi Chouji. Your sensei will be Sarutobi Asuma."

After announcing a couple more teams, Iruka rolled up the scroll and looked around the room, making eye contact with his now ex-students. "Your senseis will come to collect you from this classroom as soon as they're each ready. Before that, I want you all to know that it has been a pleasure teaching you these past years. I am sure that you will all go on to make fine Konoha shinobi. This time is now your own to do as you will until your senseis arrive. Make sure you stay in the classroom until you are collected. Best of luck to you all."

* * *

With about half the class still waiting, the door opened with a sudden slam, revealing a tall, black-haired woman wearing a tan overcoat. As she turned upon entering the room, her mesh under armour was revealed, alongside a lot of bare skin.

"Alright, where's Team 6?" The woman barked. "Come with me, NOW!"

Obito exchanged a glance with Hinata and Sasuke, and the trio chased after the woman who had already left at a jog. They ran through the village in silence without stopping, until they reached a familiar gate that read 'Training Ground 2' in somewhat faded black ink. They moved through the training ground to a small clearing amongst the trees, and stopped. Along the way, Obito couldn't help but notice the distinct lack of natural debris.

Anko turned to face them, and glared. "Mitarashi Anko, Tokubetsu-Jonin. I'll be your sensei and team leader _if_ you can pass my test. The missions I usually take on are not for the fleet of heart, nor for weak shinobi. I need to know that I'm not taking on genin who'll get killed or get me killed."

Anko continued without giving any of them a moment to speak or ask questions. "So. I'm going to create a shadow clone. You're going to fight the shadow clone. If the clone is dispelled, you pass the exam. If not, you go to the Genin Corps starting tomorrow, and your shinobi career will be full of delightful grunt work. You have five minutes to put your noggins together and come up with some kind of a plan, and then we start. Any questions? No? Good."

It had only been about three minutes when Anko started moving. The team hadn't finished planning, but they were forced into action when Hinata reported that Anko had gone out of her Byakugan's range. They quickly got up and chased after, slowing to a halt at Hinata's signal.

"T-traps ahead, be careful." Hinata spoke mildly, but loud enough for her teammates to hear.

As they got closer to where Anko seemed to be waiting, Hinata pointed out where the traps were so that they could safely advance. According to Hinata, Anko was standing with her back to a tree not far ahead of them, as though taunting them by pretending to let down her guard. The genin nodded to one another, and Sasuke drew three shuriken from his pouch.

With a well-practiced flick of the wrist, Sasuke sent out the shuriken, which curved around the tree to where Anko was standing. Not a moment after the telltale clanging sound of metal on metal was heard, Hinata was beside Anko, unleashing a flurry of rapid blows. That Anko could easily deflect each and every strike was not allowed to be intimidating; if the genin allowed themselves to be startled they would surely fail this test.

Whilst Hinata was attempting to keep Anko busy, Obito was throwing kunai with exploding tags in every direction, hitting and breaking apart numerous branches; one of the first things the team had planned on seeing the bare training ground was to create objects to substitute with.

Amongst the manifold percussive explosions, Obito almost missed the one that detonated where Sasuke was standing. He knew it wasn't his, and was struggling to stave off the frustration upon realising that not only could Anko easily fend off Hinata, but she also had time to throw her own exploding tag at Sasuke.

Obito noticed Hinata take on a stance he'd never seen her use in any sparring before, and her body became a blur. He took that as his cue to rush to Sasuke's side. He quickly scanned Sasuke's body for visually obvious injuries, noticing light burning on his forearms but not much else. Sasuke was seemingly alert, so Obito made the snap decision to only provide some light healing. He dared to close his eyes for just a moment to focus, bringing chakra to his hands in the form of a light green glow. Pressing his hands over Sasuke's forearms, the burn began to fade. However, before Obito was able to finish healing the burn, he and Sasuke had to dodge for cover behind a tree as another kunai sliced through the air straight towards them.

Ready to rejoin the fray, Sasuke pulled a kunai from his pouch and ran in towards Anko. Obito turned to see Hinata clutching her stomach, taking deep breaths to steady herself. Obito realised that he needed to give them some direct support now if they were going to get a single hit in, and grabbed a small cylindrical whistle from his pouch. Holding it between his lips to free up his hands, Obito began weaving hand signs. Once he had molded his chakra as needed, Obito blew into his whistle. No sound could be heard, which was exactly why, for a whole second, Anko stood dazed.

This second was long enough for Hinata to step back into her stance and begins to unleash what would have been a successful flurry of blows if Obito's genjutsu had lasted. After landing only one hit to Anko's hip, Anko seemed to snap back into full consciousness and leap up into the air. Whilst she was in the air, Anko was visibly chaining hand seals at an incredible speed. By the time she landed, a swarm of snakes had appeared where her arms emerged from her coat, and they were already lashing out towards Hinata and Sasuke.

Sasuke stepped back and began working through hand seals that were familiar to Hinata and Sasuke, starting with the Snake seal and finishing with Tiger. His execution speed had improved enough over the years that Anko only had time to shield herself with her snakes as Sasuke yelled "Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu". A great ball of fire roared out of Sasuke's mouth, making direct contact with Anko's snakes and dispelling them to leave behind only the pungent scent of burnt flesh.

Obito leapt into position behind Anko and across from Sasuke, who used the opening to kick straight towards Anko's gut. Faster than any of the genin could register, Sasuke's leg was brought to a halt by Anko's hand, and a moment later Sasuke was toppling backwards towards the ground. As Obito was racing to complete the hand seals needed to perform his strongest possible paralysis ninjutsu, his eyes flashed red and he saw dirt, feeling a cracking pain in his back and a heavy weight press into him before lifting off. Then, Obito felt a stab in his side.

Obito tried to get up and found his body too heavy to move. His next attempt to mold chakra resulted in his vision growing blurry, and he realised he had poison moving through his system. Obito began trying to stabilise his chakra and get some of it into his hand so he could try and siphon out the poison from his back, but the process was far too slow to be of any use to his team. As a last resort, he tried to bring his thumb to his mouth to draw blood and push his chakra through into a forced Summoning technique. Before his hand even got anywhere near his face, Obito unleashed a curdling scream of pain as Anko stomped on his hand.

"You think you'll get even a single opening?" Anko cursed at him, and then she was gone.

In the next moment, Obito heard a high pitched gasp followed by a thump, and turned his face to see Hinata on the floor not ten meters away. Obito tried and failed to make sense of the situation. Back in the academy, they'd all been trained to deal with frightening situations as calmly as possible. This was supposed to be a test, but Anko seemed as though she had it in for them.

Obito's eyes widened as he made out the blurry figure of Anko rushing towards Sasuke. The figure that looked like Sasuke seemed to be frozen even as Anko closed in the distance towards him. And then, the two figures became one.

Obito heard a faint popping sound, and then everything went dark.

* * *

When Obito came to, he felt aching all over his body. He blinked a couple times and began to push himself up off the ground.

"Heal your comrades," the voice of Anko commanded from somewhere nearby.

As Obito stood, he noticed the woozy sensation was gone, and he could move his chakra around normally. Unfortunately, that did nothing for the pain he felt as a result of the blow he took to his back earlier.

Obito saw the still but breathing bodies of Hinata and Sasuke on the ground, and rushed over first to Hinata. He knew he should heal her first, because she could help heal him and Sasuke too. As Obito felt chakra flow out of his body and into Hinata's, she began to stir.

"So, what happens now. We go to Genin Corps?" Obito asked glumly.

"Heal your comrades first, then we talk." Anko replied dryly.

Obliging begrudgingly, Obito trudged over to Sasuke and began healing what looked like a shallow gast along his chest. As the flesh knitted itself back together and began to close over, Obito fell back and looked to the sky.

Once Sasuke had stirred and sat up, Anko spoke again. "You kids are combat-naive and weak. The three of you fought a clone of mine which had only half of my chakra, and landed _one_ hit. One."

Obito looked down towards the ground, ashamed, afraid and unable to meet the eyes of his teammates and friends. "Are we really _that_ incapable?"

At that moment, Anko's face broke into an eerily wide grin as she cracked up. "Ahaha! Get a load of that. You kids, incapable? Nah, you all pass!"

Obito looked up at Anko in stunned disbelief. He then looked over to his teammates, noticing them being equally as shocked. "I'm sorry, what?"

"Something wrong with your ears? I said you pass." Anko smirked. "I told you earlier that if the clone is dispelled, you pass the exam. I didn't say _you_ had to dispel the clone. Truth be told, I was going to pass you kids as long as none of you ran away and abandoned the others. So, you pass!"

"B-but," Sasuke croaked out shakily, "we could barely touch you..."

Anko looked Sasuke up and down, and her expression morphed into a more serious one. She looked Sasuke directly in the eyes and spoke. "I put you kids through hell because I needed to see that you already have the attitude to become shinobi who can work with me. My job here is to train you up into an all-rounder team that can deal with a wide variety of circumstances. You kids came up with clever plans, worked together extremely well and showed incredibly creative thinking in a stressful environment."

"Sasuke," Anko continued, "your use of ninjutsu is well beyond what a genin should be capable of. Hinata, your taijutsu is good, and if you can become more confident in yourself you'll realise that you're far more capable than you think. And Obito, you managed to catch my clone in two layers of genjutsu, despite my training in countering genjutsu. You kids are gonna go far. But now, let's focus on lunch... I'm starving!"

Obito gawked at Anko, still processing the apparent personality switch. From the looks of it, his teammates were in a similar mental space too.

"Alright, Team 6. Let's go get some food and we'll debrief. You kids look like you need some time to process, so we'll take it at a walk and you can ask all the questions you need," Anko smiled congenially, stepping over to each of them in turn and offering them a hand up.


	14. Chapter 12 - Dango & Diagnostics

**AN 16/08/20:** I've made a minor edit, changing Obito from being an official member of the Yamanaka to an official ally, which made more sense to me.

* * *

_Dango-ya_

Whilst the trio of genin were still shellshocked, processing what had just happened to them, their sensei ordered a platter of dango, which was apparently lunch for the day. They had walked to the restaurant in absolute silence, despite Anko's offer to answer any of their questions.

"Alright, so congratulations on your unofficial genin graduation. I'm going to go ahead and explain some things now, so listen up," Anko announced. "After graduating from the academy, every team of genin has to complete a test set by their sensei. I gave you a test to see how you would handle dangerous situations in a state of disadvantage. I also wanted to assess how well you would respond to fear.

"You might not feel like it, but you all did well. When one of you dropped, the other two did not give up and tried to take an action that would protect your teammates," Anko continued. "I don't care for those who abandon their comrades. Anyway, I can see that you're pretty shaken, so I want to assure you of two things. Firstly, I will _never_ willingly put you in a situation where you're likely to get killed. Secondly, I'm going to teach you kids how to cope with fear and trauma. A traumatized shinobi is a useless shinobi, and none of you are _allowed_ to be useless.

"Now, are you three ready to move onto business?" Anko asked as the food arrived.

Slowly, each of the genin nodded. Obito looked at his teammates and noticed that they both still looked pretty unsettled. Hinata was gripping at her fingertips, an old habit of hers that she used to display when she was particularly nervous or afraid but hadn't been seen doing for almost a year now. Sasuke's hands were balled into tight fists, and his whole body looked tense.

Hoping that the food would help to break this tension, Obito reached for a skewer of dango and started eating. "So, what's next?"

"First things first, it's time for us to get to know each other a bit," Anko answered. "So, I want you to tell me what you think your specialty as a shinobi is right now, why you became a shinobi and a goal you're currently working towards. I'll go first - my specialties are infiltration and assassination - I'm someone the village calls on to take down dangerous opponents who are usually stronger than me. I became a shinobi because I was inspired by my old mentor and my current goal is to make sure you kids don't die. Who's next?"

Obito volunteered himself. "My specialties are fuinjutsu and genjutsu, and I'm working on my medical jutsu as well. I guess I became a shinobi because it seemed the natural thing to do, and because Naruto also wanted to. And my current goal... well, it's better if I tell you all that later."

As Obito said the last sentence, he had to fight off an urge to reach for his belly. Then, Hinata offered to speak next.

"I've been told that my strength is my taijutsu, and I can also do some medical ninjutsu. I became a shinobi because it is the duty of the Hyuuga clan heir to do so. And my current goal is to..." Hinata's face reddened, and Obito put a supportive hand on her shoulder. "I want... to show my clan that I'm not weak like they think I am!"

"We'll have that goal done in no time, kiddo!" Anko grinned. "Lucky last, Sasuke?"

"I'm good at fire jutsu and taijutsu, I guess. I also became a shinobi because it's just what Uchiha do, especially in the main family. And my current goal is to surpass my brother, but I don't think that'll ever happen..." Sasuke trailed off, staring into his hands.

"It sure won't happen if you keep that attitude, kid! Itachi is one of Konoha's best, sure. But when I'm done with you, you might just give him a run for his money." Anko reassured him. "Okay, great. Here's the plan for today. Once we finish eating, we're going to go and take on a D-ranked mission from the Hokage's tower. We'll only be doing D-Ranks for a while, to give us time to train and grow accustomed to working as a team. These will all essentially be glorified chores around the village, and I'm going to make them harder for you so you can use them to train."

Anko stopped talking and seemed to wait for a reaction, but her genin gave none. "After we've finished our first mission, we're heading back to the training field from this morning where I'm going to run you through some tests and exercises to see where you're all at with your abilities. When that's done, we'll finish for the day."

* * *

_Mission Assignment Hall, Hokage Tower_

Upon entering the mission assignment hall, Team 6 were greeted by the dauntingly authoritative Hokage, with his face as stern as ever. Beside him were several shinobi wearing standard issue chunin flak jackets, scribbling away at various paperwork.

"Ah, Anko," Fugaku began. "What a surprise - I didn't expect your team to be the first ones here. You did give them a test... yes?"

"Nah," Anko laughed. "I just terrified your son a bit. Made him think I'd killed his teammates in front of him, you know? Nothing too serious. All in a day's work!"

Fugaku stared, seemingly unsure of how to respond to this remark. He looked over to Sasuke, who returned a nervous thumbs up in an attempt to signal that he was ok. "I... see. Well, I assume that you are here for your first mission. Anko, do you have a preference for your team's first mission?"

"Anything but Tora, we're not ready for that yet." Anko responded. One of the chuunin at the desk choked and coughed at Anko's answer, resulting in the three genin being very confused, and mildly alarmed.

Anko then accepted a scroll and opened it. She walked over to a window, looked outside, and then cracked up. "Damn, you guys respond fast. Alright kids, follow me."

* * *

"Wow, it's..." Obito began.

"Colourful?" Sasuke offered.

"Everywhere?" Hinata added.

"Yours to clean up." Anko declared.

"Wait, what?" The three genin responded at once.

"That's right," Anko confirmed, looking up at the Hokage Monument. "Your mission is to clean all of that paint."

Obito processed this for a moment. "You're saying that in the time since we went inside and reached the missions hall, not only did someone get all that paint up on the monument but a mission was also created to clean it up?"

Anko nodded.

"Well, why doesn't the person who did this clean it? Have they been caught?" Sasuke asked.

"The kid who did this is eight years old, and it was decided that his little antics were dangerous enough and that he'll get some other punishment. So, you three get to clean up after him." Anko laughed. "You gotta admit though, it's pretty impressive work. It has... artistic flair."

Obito sighed. "Ok, let's go to the river."

"What? Why would-" Hinata began to ask, before seeming to remember that she was talking to Obito.

Anko said nothing, opting instead to observe and let her genin take the lead.

"I have an idea that will save hours of scrubbing, but we need to go to the river first."

* * *

Once they reached the Naka river, Obito grabbed a pen and paper from his pouch and began making some notes. He seemed oblivious to the fact that his team were expecting some kind of explanation, and continued to work. After a few minutes, he had begun drafting designs for a seal, and then... "Aha! Got it!"

"...Got what?" Sasuke asked cautiously.

"Just watch!" Obito smirked.

Obito took out a blank paper tag, drew out his new seal design, initialized it and pressed it to the surface of the water. After a couple moments, he lifted up the seal.

"Alright, now check this out!" Obito shouted to the group. He then activated the seal and a burst of water jetted out from the tag.

"Neat trick, kid. Wanna explain how it works?" Anko praised as Obito returned to the group.

"So, normal sealing scrolls store objects in a kind of... space that just exists without any kind of shape. And the design of the seal dictates how much can fit inside the scroll. I changed up the design just a little bit so that it can store water, and as you unseal it the sealing space quickly shrinks and pushes the water out like a pump. So, if I make a whole bunch of these, we can use them to wash off the paint much more easily!" Obito explained enthusiastically.

About half an hour later, Team 6 had returned to the Hokage Monument with a large stock of what were essentially storage seals mimicking water jutsu.

"Okay, let's establish some rules for this mission. For as long as I'm your sensei, every D-Rank mission you do will be some form of training. In order to clean the monuments, you're going to need to get up there. The only way I'm allowing you to climb up there is by walking up the wall. If you get tired, you take a break. But the only way you're allowed up there is on foot." Anko directed.

* * *

An hour later, Team 6 found themselves back in the mission assignment hall, receiving a small payment for their work. Anko then led them back to Training Ground 2 immediately, allowing no reprieve. Upon arrival, Anko immediately created two shadow clones. Each of the original and the shadow clones took one of Obito, Hinata and Sasuke to a different space.

"Okay Obito, I've seen what you can with fuinjutsu. Now I want you to show me what you can do with genjutsu." Anko declared firmly. "Hold nothing back, I want to know what you're capable of when you have the opportunity to go all out."

Obito nodded, and closed his eyes. After a few seconds collecting his thoughts and planning his genjutsu, Obito opened his eyes and reached for the whistle in his pouch. Whilst blowing into the whistle, Obito weaved a series of hand seals, ending in the Rat seal.

Immediately after this, Obito configured his hands into the circular seal he had been taught by Sora, and focused on another technique. A moment later, Obito whispered " _Shintenshin_ ", and he watched from Anko's eyes as his body hit the ground. In the scarce few moments he had, Obito ran Anko's body to a tree and began to run upwards. A few steps away from the top, Obito felt the expected jerking sensation and found himself staring at the sky from within his own body. He then noticed Anko look around before leaping back to the ground beside him.

"Impressive, kid. Four layers, and... I have to ask, is Yamanaka Inoichi aware that you know one of his clan's techniques?" Anko enquired.

Obito blinked. "Um... yeah? You know one of my dads is a Yamanaka, right?"

"Of course I do, kid. Some clans are more protective than others and want to keep their techniques in the blood, though." Anko responded. "So, what else can you do? Give me the list and then I'll get you to show me some things."

Obito picked himself up off the ground and dusted himself off, and then looked towards Anko. "Well, with the Yamanaka jutsu, I'm still working on Shintenshin; right now I couldn't do it in a stressful environment even if the target was well locked down. Sora's also teaching me another clan technique that will allow me to communicate at distance, but I'm a ways off from mastering that. I have a few Yin-natured ninjutsu under my belt, but I can't do _any_ elemental release techniques."

Anko pressed her lips together tightly, as though in concentration. "Alright, I can work with that. How's your physical combat?"

Obito laughed. "Physical combat? No thanks. My taijutsu is passable and I can throw a kunai with reasonably good aim, but I try to avoid it. I assume you saw my Academy file, so you know that after a couple of years at the Academy I dropped to near the bottom of the class when it came to anything taijutsu related."

Anko's eyes met Obito's. "Have you tried any Bukijutsu?"

"No, the Bukijutsu classes clashed with the medic classes and I chose the latter. Why?" Obito looked back at Anko, puzzled.

"I'm going to introduce you to a friend of mine later. His name is Gekko, and he's a tokubetsu jonin I've worked with plenty. He used to be deathly afraid of fighting at close range, until he started learning kenjutsu. Now, he's one of Konoha's best kenjutsu fighters," Anko explained. "Some people who struggle with taijutsu just need the right weapon in their hands, and I'm hoping you'll be one of those. If not, I'm sending you to Guy."

"You wouldn't..." Obito scoffed.

"Oh you bet your sorry ass I would, kiddo!" Anko grinned. "Alright, before we head back to meet with the others, I want to discuss one more thing with you. I've been told that you're aware of your 'status' in Konoha?"

Obito lifted his shirt up to expose his belly, and concentrated some chakra so that the seal would become visible. "You mean this? Yes, I know about the Kyuubi. The Hokage wants Naruto and I to start learning how to control its power. Were you told that we're starting our training tonight?"

Anko nodded. "Great, I needed to make sure we're on the same page with that one. Now, what I wanted to discuss was whether or not you want to tell your teammates. Do you?"

Obito smiled. "I'm not one to keep secrets from my friends, and this was my goal I wanted to tell everyone at lunch, but I thought it wise to not say that in a public restaurant."

* * *

"...So, long story short, both Naruto and I have half of the Kyuubi sealed inside of each of us. We're beginning our training to use its power tonight, but I suspect that it will be a long time before either of us can actually do so safely." Obito explained.

"Well," Hinata spoke, breaking a silence that had reached an uncomfortable duration. "That explains what you look like through the Byakugan. Sometimes you and Naruto have two different chakra signatures instead of one, so that must have been the Kyuubi's chakra."

Obito was glad that Hinata seemed to take the news in stride, but he also noticed Sasuke looking somewhat downcast. Obito had somewhat of an idea why Sasuke was upset, and wasn't sure how best to broach the topic.

"All I'm hearing from this is that I have three monsters in the making, not just two. Good to know!" Anko proclaimed cheerily.

"Three?" Hinata and Sasuke asked in unison.

"Hinata, you have the Byakugan, which has countless invaluable applications. You're also a talented taijutsu fighter with a ridiculous amount of potential. It's going to take hard work, but you're gonna get there. Sasuke, you may not have awakened it yet, but the Sharingan is... something else. You will reach your goal one day, but in order to do that, you _have_ to stop comparing yourself to your brother, or else you'll never have the confidence you need to reach his level." Anko lectured firmly, wearing a no-bullshit look on her face.

Sasuke still didn't look up, but his body visibly relaxed a bit. "How can you be so sure?"

Anko groaned. "Sasuke, cut the self-deprecating _bullshit_. I know your insecurity isn't going to magically up and vanish, but if you keep _letting it win_ , I swear I'll have you cleaning sewers for a week. And believe me, I can make that happen."

"Now," Anko continued, after Sasuke jerked to wide-eyed attention. "I've assessed each of you and gotten a general idea of what training you all need. Sasuke, I want you to take your skill with fire jutsu and get creative. I also want you to work on your physical strength. Hinata, you're the strongest in the group right now but your anxiety is holding you back. As part of your training, I'm going to have a friend of mine work on that with you. And Obito, you're going to give kenjutsu a try.

"We're going to meet here at 7 every morning from now on to train. We'll train in the mornings and do missions after lunch. We'll do one or two missions every day, and then you'll be free until the next morning. We'll keep going like this until I think you're ready for a C-Rank mission, which will probably take us out of Konoha for a decent period of time. Dismissed!"

* * *

_Higarashi's Armory_

Obito smiled confidently as he opened the doors to enter Konoha's most reliable shinobi goods store. As he entered, he was greeted by his old classmate, Tenten. She wore a triumphant look, and seemed to be sporting a new outfit. Instead of her usual sleeved red top and pants, she wore a lighter pink sleeveless top and dark cuffed pants which seemed far more practical for a shinobi.

"Hey, Obito! What brings you here? Oh! How did your first day go?" Tenten smiled, seemingly riding on a wave of something good.

"Ah, I have a special request to put in for my clothing. Anko seems like she'll be an amazing sensei, but she's also really terrifying. Need I ask how late Kakashi was? How was your test?" Obito asked.

Tenten gave Obito a quizzical look. "Test? What test?"

"Um... What did you do when Kakashi came to get you?" Obito queried.

"We just spoke for a bit about ourselves, and then Kakashi gave us the day off. He said to meet us at five in the morning tomorrow for our first mission... It's really early but I'm sure it will be great! I've heard that Kakashi is one of Konoha's best jonin!" Tenten beamed.

 _Oh you poor sweet child,_ Obito thought. _Hmm, should I tell her about the test? Eh, why not! That'll teach Kakashi for being so slack._

"Tenten, look. Kakashi's been like a big brother to me and Naruto growing up. So, I know him pretty well," Obito sighed. "If he told you to be there at five in the morning, he'll _probablyyy_ show up a few hours later. And if he told you anything silly like you shouldn't eat, that's one of his favourite ways to mess with people. All the genin teams have to pass some kind of test our sensei set, so be ready for that! Anyway, I love the new outfit. It really suits your style!"

"Thanks!" Tenten grinned at the compliment. "And thanks for the tip, I'll have to let Shino and Kiba know. I should let you deal with your business, too. See you round!"

As Tenten made her way out, Obito moved towards the back of the store, trying to locate Tenten's father. The stocky man was by a grindstone, sharpening a set of kunai.

"Um, Mister Higarashi, sorry to interrupt, but-" Obito started.

"Obito, my boy! Good to see you. Please, you're friends with my daughter. Please, call me Kagu." Tenten's father interjected casually, continuing to work on the kunai as he spoke.

"Alright. Kagu, I need some new outfits, and I have a special request for them. And before you ask, I have spoken to Uncle Inoichi about this. Now, I was wondering if you could..."

* * *

Just as the sun was beginning to set, Naruto arrived outside the Hokage's office, panting heavily.

"About time you showed up!" Obito teased. "You look pretty alive, Guy must be going easy on you. What was his test like?"

Naruto took a moment to catch his breath before answering.

"Freaking crazy! He took us to this training field and was just like 'Yosh my youthful wannabe genin! If you can make me step away from this spot, I'll be your sensei!' and then..." Naruto stopped to catch his breath again. "After half an hour of him blocking _everything_ Sakura made _poison_ come out of the ground below him and he had to move! We've all trained with Guy before but today he was on another level!"

"Let me guess - after that he made you run a thousand laps around the village on your hands?" Obito queried only half-sarcastically.

"No... Not on our hands, and we only did ten laps. We trained _all day_. _THE WHOLE DAY._ " Naruto complained. "Why did I have to get Guy as a sensei? Of all people!"

Obito laughed. "Look at it this way. You'll suffer all day every day for a while, but then you'll be crazy strong after. For our test, Anko made us fight a solid clone of her, and just when we thought we were making some headway she knocked us _all_ out in a matter of seconds. She passed us anyway, and she seems to have a really good plan for our training. Super scary, but I trust her. She kind of resembles Orochimaru a bit, too..."

"Wait..." Naruto began, his eyes noticeably stuck on the left sleeve of Obito's top. "Your shirt... Is that?"

Obito's top was now adorned with a second clan symbol. The right sleeve had always had the Uzumaki swirl, and now his left sleeve had a symbol that looked almost like a parasol inscribed in a circle.

"Yeah, it's the Yamanaka clan symbol, identifying me as an official ally of the Yamanaka clan. It was Uncle Inoichi's condition for me learning the Yamanaka's jutsu from Sora - he wants me to wear their symbol as well. It gives them political clout, and also means that I can call on them for aid. Oh, I made him agree that if you ever want to, you can take on the symbol and officiate your allegiance as well. How does it look?"

Before Naruto had a chance to respond, Fugaku called them into his office. As usual, the room was meticulously organised but held a heavy atmosphere.

"Naruto, Obito, thank you for coming. As we discussed earlier, it's time for you to begin learning how to control the power of the Kyuubi," Fugaku declared. "I am sure that you are rather busy with your lives as new genin, however this is also of the utmost importance. I have discussed with your senseis, and they understand the necessity. As such, you will attend these training sessions every second evening until further notice. Yamato, please come in!"

At Fugaku's summons, a young man with brown hair appeared. He was wearing a strange head-guard that covered little of his face, revealing an eerily calm expression.

"This is Yamato. He has a certain ability that will be critical for your training. If Yamato is ever unavailable, you will _not_ proceed with your training. Now, Yamato, if you would kindly escort our jinchuriki to their training?"

* * *

_Konoha Underground_

Obito and Naruto followed Yamato down a long, winding flight of stairs that led into a dimly torch-lit tunnel that must have been at least a hundred meters below Konoha. The air was stuffy, and Obito felt a shiver creep down his spine from a combination of the cold and the eerie atmosphere. After a few minutes of walking past doorway after doorway, Yamato stopped in front of a door labeled 'Training Hall'.

The twins followed their escort through the doorway and into a ginormous room that must have been at least the size of the Hokage Tower. The room was mostly empty, although Obito noticed arrays of sealing script spread across the walls. He wasn't close enough to read them, but he could guess that their purpose was at least in part to structurally reinforce the room.

Waiting for them within the room were both Jiraiya and Orochimaru. They seemed to have been in the middle of some kind of argument, but that was brought to a halt as soon as the twins walked in.

"Ah, boys, you're here. Alright, let's begin with ground rules," Jiraiya began abruptly. "This training is exceedingly dangerous, so you will need to follow our instructions to the letter. Firstly, until we decide that you're ready, you _will not_ attempt to use the power of the Kyuubi or even _practice_ using this power outside of our training sessions. Secondly, if Yamato is not here, training is postponed. And thirdly, if you want to try anything new in our sessions, you _ask us first_."

Almost anticipating the reaction, Obito looked over to Naruto and saw his brother looking a bit confused and overwhelmed. Fortunately, Orochimaru seemed to notice it as well.

"What my dear friend here forgot to mention," Orochimaru added wearily, "is that if any of us do anything stupid during this training, the Kyuubi could break free and destroy Konoha. Which would be a shame, of course, because I'd lose all my valuable research material. There is a lot that we don't know about the seal and about the Tailed Beasts, because the fools before us didn't take notes. What we do know is that both Kushina and her predecessor Mito were able to make use of the Kyuubi's chakra, and that Kushina supposedly talked to the Kyuubi."

 _Actually, we know more than that..._ Obito thought, but tabled the thought for later. Yamato was still an unknown entity, so he had to be careful what knowledge he revealed.

"So, here's the plan," Jiraiya began to explain. "Yamato is going to use his ability to stabilize your seal. Orochimaru and I will be here to help ensure nothing goes wrong. I'm going to loosen the seal just a tiny bit, and then it's going to be up to you to figure out how to talk to the Kyuubi. After that, we improvise."

Taking his cue, Yamato took position at the other end of the training hall and created a single shadow clone. Each Yamato then sat on what appeared to be two separate, large patches of dirt. Each Yamato then held his hand to the ground, resulting in pillars of wood rising out of the dirt. Once a ring of pillars had formed around each Yamato, they held their palms out. Even at a distance, Obito could barely just make out a sealing symbol of some kind form on each Yamato's palm, and felt a strange force latch onto him.

"Woah, what _is_ this?" Naruto shivered.

"More pressingly, isn't that Wood Release?" Obito exclaimed.

"I'm told that our dearest Yamato was one of my... escapades from when our _favourite_ old Hawk was telling me what to do," Orochimaru confessed. "He has old man Hashirama's cells in him. Questions later, though. Now, we begin the _experiment_."

If Obito were not a man of science himself, he probably would have been terrified of the hungry look on Orochimaru's face. However, he could understand Orochimaru's enthusiasm to discover more about a Tailed Beast, and perhaps even shared some of the curiosity.

Jiraiya rolled his eyes and grumbled something about Orochimaru being 'bloody mad', and approached Naruto first. "Alright Naruto. Shirt up, Banzai!"

Confused and apprehensive, Naruto pulled up his shirt and said "banzai". Jiraiya pressed his fingertips to Naruto's belly, and Naruto convulsed for a moment. Before Obito could react, though, Naruto settled, and blinked.

"Am I supposed to feel any different?" Naruto asked.

"You think I have all the answers, kid? This is as much as I can do right now if we don't want to blow up Konoha." Jiraiya grumbled, and moved over to Obito.

Once Jiraiya had loosened Obito's seal, both the twins shivered. Something in the air had changed, and they both felt it. Obito suddenly felt like he was falling, and a moment later he found himself in what looked like a sewer system. Looking around, Obito realised that Naruto was no longer with him. He was in _the_ sewers, and he was on his own.

A gust of wind blew into Obito's side and he turned. Facing him was a set of piercing deep red eyes that glared at him menacingly, accompanied by a _large_ snarling set of sharp teeth.

"Hello, Kurama." Obito smiled.


	15. Chapter 13 - The Village Nuisance

**AN:** This chapter is going to change perspectives a few times and follow some different characters - I will signal when the PoV changes.

* * *

All preconceived notions of confidence aside, Obito couldn't help but shudder as the menacing beast towered over him. Not even the conscious knowledge that Kurama was contained by Minato's powerful sealing technique could stop Obito from feeling something _corrosive_ on his skin. The beast let out an even more vicious snarl, and rammed his head up against the unwavering bars. A barely visible ripple propagated outwards from the point of impact, and the Kyuubi remained pressed against the bars, staring with ferocious intent directly at Obito.

"Nobody has called me that in an eternity, _brat._ Where did you hear that name?" Kurama demanded, shrieking with fury.

Maintaining eye contact with the fox, Obito took a slow, measured breath. Once he had grounded himself well, he rebuilt his calm smile. "Is there something else you'd prefer I call you? I would have thought that using your name would be more respectful."

For a while, Kurama did not respond. He continued to stare directly at Obito, as though trying to pick him apart and understand what purpose the boy had. After a while, the fox spoke.

"I don't know what game you're playing here, _brat_. But if you think you can tame me like many before you have tried, know this - one day I will break free from these shackles and devour you!"

Rather than responding, Obito dedicated his attention to fighting against the corrosive sensation so that he could step forward and examine the seal across the bars.

"Hmmm," Obito thought aloud. "This will take some time, and work, but I think I can make some modifications here. I was thinking... maybe some kind of window that you can open and close as you desire? I'd assume that being stuck in here all the time gets boring."

"What are you talking about, _brat_?" Kurama snarled, almost wearily.

"Oh, right. Sorry! I don't want to keep you shackled in here," Obito explained. "But I also have a sense of self preservation. So I was hoping to make things nicer for you in here, and perhaps we can develop a partnership of sorts?"

The fox seemed to relax slightly, and snickered. "Oh, and I suppose you'll expect something from me in return, won't you? In the end, all that my jailors ever want is my chakra, which I do not willingly give."

The corrosive pressure eased ever so slightly.

"Let me make an oath to you right now, Kurama. I know you have no reason to trust or believe me right now. Nonetheless, I'm not ever going to take your chakra, unless you choose to give it to me." Obito promised, returning eye contact to Kurama after having examined the seal on tha bars.

The fox made an aggressive 'hmph' sound, and turned away from Obito, pacing away towards the depths of his prison.

"My name is Obito, by the way!" Obito called out as the scene before him faded to black.

A moment later, Obito felt his consciousness return to his body. Obito realised that Naruto was standing over him, wearing a look of panic. Looking around, Obito noted that Orochimaru and Jiraiya didn't seem all too concerned. Yamato was in his earlier position, stoic as ever.

"How long was I out?" Obito asked as he stood up and dusted himself off.

"A couple of minutes. Care to explain?" Orochimaru inquired, his tone lazy and unbothered.

"I had a chat with the Kyuubi. He doesn't seem too happy with the current arrangements. Little bit on the cramped side, I think." Obito joked, scratching at the back of his head. "Naruto, how about you? Any progress?"

Naruto shook his head. "I felt something... shift, I think? Like, I can tell that the chakra is there now, but I can't quite get at it. What do you mean you spoke to the Kyuubi? How?"

Obito frowned. "All I know is that a moment after Jiraiya adjusted my seal I felt like I was falling, and then I was in this sewer-like place talking to the Kyuubi. It just... happened?"

Naruto grumbled something inaudible, and dropped into a cross-legged position sitting on the ground. His eyes were pressed shut, and he seemed to be trying to focus.

Meanwhile, an idea occurred to Obito. "Hey, Jiraiya, can you explain the difference between our two seals? Maybe that will help us understand what's going on better."

"Your seals are both Eight Trigrams Seals. They're a kind of seal said to have been created by Uzumaki from generations past, that are designed to contain large amounts of chakra. There's only one difference between your two seals, and that is the direction of the spiral centrepiece." Jiraiya explained.

"And that would most likely signify some sort of oppositeness," Obito conjectured.

"Yin and Yang chakra," Orochimaru offered plainly. "Naruto most likely has the Yang half of the Kyuubi, whilst you, Obito, have the Yin half. That would-"

"That explains why Naruto is so good with nature transformations, whilst I can't do them at all!" Obito exclaimed, cutting Orochimaru off in a moment of excitement. "So since Yin chakra has a stronger connection to the mind, that could be why it was so much easier for me to communicate with the Kyuubi."

As Obito came to this realisation, he noticed the air grow heavy in the room. He began to feel that same corrosive force from within the sewers. At the same time, he heard Yamato gasp.

"Sorry to break up your moment of enlightenment, but we have a problem here!" Yamato shouted with a tone of urgency.

As Obito connected the dots, he swore and turned towards Naruto. The sight before him confirmed his realisation, and he swore again. Naruto appeared to be enveloped in an orange shroud, and was crouching like a cat ready to pounce - and he was facing straight towards Obito. His features had become fox-like - nails turned to sharp claws, fangs protruding from his mouth, ears pointed and his whisker lines far more pronounced.

Without hesitation, both Orochimaru and Jiraiya stood defensively, holding the hand seal for the common Temporary Paralysis technique. Just as the seemingly possessed Naruto's feet left the ground, he froze midair and collapsed. Almost simultaneously, several of the wooden pillars surrounding Yamato had extended towards Naruto and had begun to lace around his body. Slowly, the orange shroud faded from Naruto's bound form, and he went limp.

Yamato manipulated the wood to gently lower Naruto's body to the ground, and then they retreated back into their pillar forms. A few moments later, Naruto pushed himself up onto his knees.

"I'm sorry..." Naruto whispered shakily. "I'm so sorry..."

The blonde began to cradle his knees, rocking back and forth. Obito moved to sit by him, holding his brother firmly in his own arms.

"It's not your fault, Naruto, that was the fox trying to take over," Obito tried to reassure him.

"No, I felt in control the whole time. I wanted to-" Naruto paused, tears spilling from his eyes. "I wanted to hurt you, Obito," he said shakily, his voice barely above a whisper.

Beginning to realise what might be going on in his brother's mind, Obito focused all of his attention on his twin. Orochimaru, Jiraiya and Yamato's presences faded into the meaningless background, only Naruto was important right now.

"Why did you want to hurt me? You can tell me, Naruto." Obito spoke gently.

"No... you'll think I'm awful!" Naruto resisted.

"I won't, I promise you. What's wrong?" Obito persisted, trying to keep his tone soft and supportive.

"I-" Naruto began. "I felt so jealous, and was scared you were leaving me behind. We're on different teams, and earlier when you came wearing that symbol, I thought you were leaving me behind. And then, you were able to talk to the Kyuubi and I couldn't. I just felt like I was falling too far behind, and I got upset. And then I just felt this awful anger, and I couldn't stop, and I tried to attack you. I... I don't understand! What's wrong with me?"

Obito continued to hold his brother tightly, his own head resting against Naruto's.

"I'm not going anywhere, brother. We may be on different teams, and we might see less of each other for a while, but you'll always be one of the most important people in my life. Always," Obito promised. "And that anger? That wasn't you. That was the Kyuubi, trying to take over."

The two brothers remained in their embrace for several minutes, oblivious to the other three in the room. Eventually, Naruto stopped shaking and Obito let go. Obito stood up, and offered a hand to Naruto. The two stood, and turned to face their teachers.

"Well, that was... touching." Orochimaru mused. "Are you ready to proceed? We need to discuss what just occurred."

Upon Naruto's nod, Orochimaru continued. "Naruto, when you were taken over by the fox, a single tail of orange chakra emerged from your body. What do you suppose that could mean?"

Naruto's eyes, puffy from crying, strained in concentration. "One tail... one tail... But, the Kyuubi has nine tails!"

"Go on," Orochimaru beckoned.

"If the Kyuubi has nine tails, but there was only one... only a small part of the Kyuubi's power came out?" Naruto guessed.

"Right," Jiraiya chimed in. "So, you've demonstrated that you _can_ call on some of the Kyuubi's power. For now, Naruto, you will need to work on controlling that power."

Seemingly dissatisfied, Naruto was pouting. At this point, Obito coughed to garner everybody's attention.

"Naruto, you're still confused about why we responded so differently when our seals were adjusted, aren't you?" Obito asked. When Naruto nodded, he continued speaking. "What we figured out is that I have the Yin half of the Kyuubi's chakra while you have the Yang half. This is important, because Yin chakra is usually associated with the mind and spirit, while Yang chakra is associated with the body. I think this just means that we'll each need to do a different kind of training in order to learn to control the Kyuubi's chakra."

Once they finished discussing what had happened, Jiraiya announced that it was time to finish training for now. He proceeded to adjust the twins' seals again, tightening them to avoid any incidents until the next training session. Then, Yamato led the boys out, and they returned home.

* * *

_Training Ground 2_

Obito wiped at his eyes and stifled a yawn while he jogged towards the team's meeting point. When he arrived, he noticed Anko talking to an unfamiliar figure wearing standard Konoha shinobi attire. As he drew closer, he noticed the man had a katana strapped to his back, as well as a large scroll hanging over his shoulder.

"Obito, right on time!" Anko smiled, turning to face her student. At Anko's greeting, the unfamiliar man also turned to face Obito. "Hayate, this is the kid I was telling you about. Obito, this is Gekko Hayate, a Tokubetsu Jonin like me. He'll be helping train you for a few weeks, as a favour to me."

Obito smiled, and nodded respectfully to Hayate. "Good morning. Thank you for taking the time to train me, I look forward to learning from you."

"Hn. Follow me." Hayate responded, and took off without warning.

With a nod from Anko, Obito set off after the swordsman, following him to a clearing at the far end of the training grounds. By the time Obito had arrived, Hayate had unfurled the scroll on the ground. The swordsman pressed his palm to the scroll, and tens of bladed weapons appeared, settling neatly over the paper.

"So, from what Anko told me, you've got the poorest close combat skills of the group, and specialise in a variety of ranged support skills. She's asked me to fix that," Hayate began. "You'll see before you a variety of blades. Each of them is suited to a slightly different style of kenjutsu. I want you to pick them up, one at a time. Feel the weight and shape of it in your hands, and give it a few swings. If you like the feel of one of them, put it to the side. Otherwise, lay it back over the scroll."

As instructed, Obito immediately got to work. The first blade Obito picked up was short and light, and felt almost too easy to swing. Without much hesitation, he placed it back upon the scroll paper. Obito continued testing the swords one after another. Ten minutes later, Obito was testing the balance of a wakizashi with a deep black blade. Even as he picked the blade up, something about it just felt _right_.

* * *

_Hinata's Point of View_

Hinata arrived at the training ground just in time to see Obito chase after an unfamiliar shinobi dressed in standard Konoha attire. Her heart skipped a beat as the thought occurred to her that maybe she had arrived late, and disappointed her new teacher. She missed a step and stumbled, feeling heat flush to her cheeks as she regained her balance.

"Good m-morning, sensei," Hinata stammered. "I'm sorry for arriving late."

Anko looked Hinata in the eyes, and laughed. "Don't get so wound up, kiddo. You're not late, at all."

Feeling a weight lift off her chest, Hinata let her shoulders relax and drop. She stood attentive, waiting for further instruction from Anko.

"Oi, Screwhead!" Anko shouted, suddenly. "She's all yours!"

Before Hinata even had a chance to be confused by Anko's sudden shouting, a large man appeared beside her. Though startled, Hinata quickly sized up the new presence. Of the man's features, two stood out the most - his large, heavy overcoat and two deep scars running across his face.

"Hinata, this is Screwhead." Anko exclaimed. "Be nice to him, he's very sensitive. I don't want to drag him home from the bar tonight, mkay?"

The red returned to Hinata's face, flustered out of her sheer confusion. "Nice to meet you, mister..."

"Ibiki," the large man offered, with a menacingly deep voice. "Morino Ibiki. Would you kindly follow me, Miss Hyuuga?"

* * *

_Konoha Intelligence Division_

Hinata kept pace behind Ibiki, following him down staircase after staircase. The air grew heavy, and Hinata was doing everything she could to maintain her composure. Part of her wanted to activate her Byakugan to see what was in her surroundings, but another part of her felt like that would be a poor decision.

"Um, Mister Ibiki, where are we going?" Hinata blurted. She slapped a hand over her mouth, terrified that her question might've been out of line.

"My office. Welcome to Torture & Interrogation, the friendliest division of Konoha's shinobi forces. Want the grand tour?" Ibiki responded, in a tone that Hinata almost wanted to perceive as teasing.

Stunned, Hinata was unable to respond. Instead, she simply continued to follow behind Ibiki.

"No? Perhaps another time, then." Ibiki continued, before stopping to open a door. "Well, here we are. Come in, take a seat."

Hinata entered the room as instructed, and looked around. She noticed that the room seemed exceptionally... normal. The desk Ibiki seated himself behind had a couple stacks of papers, and several scrolls, but was otherwise empty. The walls were adorned with a variety of photos and calligraphy pieces. To one side of the room was an easel with a blank canvas, accompanied by several closed pots of what Hinata assumed to be paint.

"Alright, first things first," Ibiki began. "Whatever's said in this room stays in this room. You want to say something, say it. You want to break something, I'll give you something to break. Want to cry? Go ahead. Don't feel like talking? Use the time to relax. Is this understood?"

Hinata stared at Ibiki in utter confusion. "Um... what?"

"Do you know why you're here, Hinata?" Ibiki inquired.

"No... No, Sir!" Hinata forced out.

"Well, I suppose an explanation is in order." Ibiki sighed, resting his chin on his hands. "Those of us who work in Torture and Interrogation have to deliver a great deal of physical and psychological pain to prisoners for the good of Konoha. As you might imagine, that kind of work can drive the best of us completely mad. And yet you will not find a single member of my division that is actually insane or untrustworthy. Why do you think that is?"

Hinata gulped. "Um..."

"Go on, I won't take any offense." Ibiki promised.

"Do you... enjoy torturing people?" Hinata asked, her panic leaking through her words.

"Not really. At least, I don't," Ibiki confessed. "While there are a few, not many of my division actually take pleasure in causing pain."

"So... Why do you do it?" Hinata asked.

"Personally? Because I'm damn good at what I do, and I can save lives with the information I collect. Everyone here has their reasons," Ibiki answered. "The reason we don't go mad is because we look after ourselves. Each and every member of my department has a way of... letting off steam, so to speak. You may have noticed that I enjoy painting. Sometimes, I just scream."

Hinata blinked, and realised that somehow the tension had left her body and she felt calmer. For some reason, listening to Ibiki speak had soothed her, and she wasn't afraid anymore.

"Um... you said that whatever is said in this room stays in this room, right?" Hinata asked quietly, clinging tightly to the cuffs of her jacket.

"That's right," Ibiki confirmed. "What's on your mind?"

Hinata felt a pit in her stomach, and barely even stopped to consider the question. The words came easily, spilling out as though they had just been waiting for an opportunity to escape her lips. "Sometimes... Sometimes I want to hit my father. And I don't mean just a tap. I want to feel bones break... I want him to _hurt_ ," Hinata whispered. Ibiki was silent as he listened, face neutral. The horror of what she'd said built and built until a lone tear rolled down her cheek.

* * *

_Sasuke's Point of View_

Sasuke arrived to see Anko idly spinning a shuriken on a fingertip. Nobody else seemed to be around, and Sasuke felt unsure as to whether he was early or late. He looked around to try and spot his teammates, and realised that it was just Anko.

"Am I early? Where are the others?" Sasuke queried as he came to a halt in front of Anko.

"Come and gone, pretty boy, come and gone," Anko chided playfully. "Well, you're with me today. Shall we get started?"

Sasuke looked around, scanning the area just in case he could spot one of his teammates somewhere. "Sure... But where are the others?"

Anko continued spinning the shuriken idly even whilst addressing Sasuke. "Hinata's doing some work with my old boss, and Obito's learning how not to get gutted if someone gets close to him. And you? You get to learn how to blow shit up better. You ready?"

Hesitantly, Sasuke looked back to Anko and nodded. He noticed that she wasn't even looking at him - no, Anko was now holding her finger upside down and _still_ spinning the shuriken around and around.

"Tell me, why do most Katon techniques involve _breathing_ fire?" Anko stopped the shuriken from spinning and let it fall into her open hand.

"That's obvious, Katon users learn to knead and heat chakra in the body and release it through the mouth, because it's the easiest way to create fire chakra." Sasuke recited from memory, hardly having to think about it.

"Sure," Anko responded. "That is the _easiest_ way, but it's not the only way. Observe."

Anko held out her hand. She glanced at Sasuke and met his eyes, and then grinned. Without much by way of warning, her hand caught fire. Caught by surprise, Sasuke's mouth hung open just a little. Then, a swift chopping motion released an arc of flame that sliced towards a tree. The arc of flame cut cleanly through the trunk, charred wood marking its path. Not long after, the upper bisection of the tree began to slide and fall, hitting the forest floor with a loud _thunk_.

"...Can you do that again? Is it okay if I watch you do that slowly?" Sasuke asked, his attention entirely on Anko's hand.

Anko shrugged, and her hand caught on fire again. This time, Sasuke noticed a faint glow of chakra for just a moment before the fire came to life. Anko held this for a moment, and Sasuke noticed the flaming chakra appear to grow tighter - denser - and then with another chop, Anko released an arc of flame straight at the ground. Sasuke watched as the flame quickly cut into the dirt, burning the grass around it, and then dispersed into nothingness.

"So, kid, what did you see?" Anko asked, pulling out her shuriken and continuing to spin it over her finger.

Sasuke closed his eyes and replayed the scene in his mind. "First you brought chakra to your hand, which then became flames. Then, the flames seemed to pack in tightly before you sent them out?"

Anko nodded. "Good. Now, how many distinct steps did you count?"

"Four?" Sasuke offered, uncertainly.

"Almost. There was a fifth step that happened very quickly. Just before releasing the blade, I manipulated the chakra to vibrate back and forth, giving it the cutting power it needs to not just be an ordinary flame." Anko explained. "But I'm not going to teach you this technique yet. First, we start with the basics. I want you to start by bringing a ball of chakra to your finger and holding it there for as long as you can."

* * *

_Obito's Point of View_

_Mission Assignment Hall, Hokage Tower_

Collapsed by a wall to the side of the room, Obito panted heavily as he pressed his palm over his hip. A faint green glow betrayed the use of healing chakra, as the red-haired boy tended to the last of his many bruises. A concerned Hinata squatted by his side, her eyes puffy from crying. Over by a nearby window, Sasuke stared off into the distance. Obito swore he noticed a faint scent of burning when Sasuke first walked past, and concluded that the entire team had been subject to equally brutal training.

Just as Obito finished working on the bruise, Anko walked into the room, merilly munching on a skewer of dango. She walked straight past her genin without sparing them a glance, and approached the desk chuunin. After appearing to chat with the kindly woman staffing the desk, Anko accepted a scroll and walked towards her team.

"Alright kids, breaktime is over. We've got ourselves a wonderful little mission that I'm sure you'll enjoy ever so much!" Anko flashed her teeth in a menacing grin, and walked off.

* * *

_Outside the Sarutobi Complex_

"We have to do WHAT?" Sasuke yelled indignantly. After realising how loud he was, he rolled his eyes and turned to face away from his team.

"Wait, wait! I haven't even gotten to the good bit yet," Anko sniggered. "Remember yesterday's mission?"

Both Sasuke and Hinata's faces paled in dawning realisation. Meanwhile, Obito wore a look of absolute calm, mirroring how unfazed he was by the situation.

"Consider this part two! Off you go now, I have some big girl things to attend to. Play nice!" Anko teased, and then she was gone.

The confused trio of genin proceeded into the complex, following the directions on their mission scroll to a two-storey house on the east side. Upon arrival, Obito knocked on the door.

"Is that the genin team? Come in, we're just in the front room!" A voice called from within.

Cautiously, they entered. They were greeted by the sight of a red-eyed woman wearing a blouse that looked to be made of thick bandages, and a hitai-ate on her forehead. Beside her was a young boy who looked to be about nine years old. His features were mostly unremarkable, aside from dark rings under his eyes and fresh scabs and grazes over his balled up fists.

"Oh, you're here, thank goodness! I'm so sorry to put this on you, but I've been called out on a recon mission. Just remember that the kid's a total flight risk, so you're gonna need to keep an eye on him at all times," The woman instructed hastily. Obito winced at how callously she seemed to describe the boy, especially while standing right next to him. Unsurprisingly, the boy huffed angrily at the woman's words.

Obito heard the woman mutter "the things I do for that man" before she took off. Stunned, Sasuke and Hinata turned, presumably to look for Anko who they then remembered was no longer here. Taking the initiative, Obito stepped forward and held out a hand.

"Hi, Konohamaru. I'm Obito, and these are my friends, Sasuke and Hinata." Obito smiled, but momentarily lost his composure when the boy aggressively batted his hand away.

"Don't call me that! And don't act all nice and friendly with me! I know you're just like all the others," The boy huffed, and turned to look away from his new babysitters.

"I'm sorry, that's my bad. Do you have a name you'd prefer we call you by?" Obito replied gently, lowering his hand but not stepping back.

The boy looked back at him in a moment of vulnerability which quickly melted back into hollow distrust, and grumbled a response. "You can call me Maru, I guess."

A moment of tense silence passed, only to be broken by Sasuke, who spoke as he turned to leave. "I'm going to go find a kitchen and put some food together."

Maru got up and walked over to a wooden post off to the side of the room and began aggressively punching at it. Hinata shot Obito a concerned glance, but Obito shook his head and raised an open hand as though to say 'let me handle this'. Hinata gave a small nod, and left to find Sasuke.

Obito walked over towards Maru and his punching post, finding a spot to sit near him by the wall. "Hey, if it starts to hurt too much, let me know. I can heal your hands so you can keep going."

"What?" Maru stopped punching, shocked.

"What do you mean, what?" Obito responded casually.

"Aren't you... going to tell me to stop? Usually people say that I'm just going to hurt myself." Maru grunted.

"You want to feel the pain, don't you? I have no idea what you're going through, so who am I to take this away from you?" Obito said, keeping his tone and expression casual.

Maru looked straight at Obito. For a moment, Obito thought he saw something relax. But then Maru's face hardened again, and he returned to his punching post. The punching went on for several minutes, before Maru finally held out his hands wordlessly.

Obito looked the hands over - the knuckles were red and raw, some blood starting to well up and run along the skin. Obito held out his own hands, and let the green healing chakra come forth. Focusing on the wounds, Obito moulded just the right amount of chakra to close over the wounds and help sooth the pain. Once the healing was finished, Obito withdrew his hands back to his lap.

Instead of continuing to punch, Maru allowed himself to fall back onto the floor, landing on a soft cushion. The boy looked up, and closed his eyes. "Kurenai also didn't tell me to stop. She thought that this was a good way for me to let out my anger... Or so she said. But it didn't last, it never does."

Obito wanted to scream in frustration, but this wasn't his moment. Right now, this was about Maru. "Let me guess - she tells you that you're too young to be so angry? Makes all the problems about you?"

Maru opened his eyes wide, staring directly into Obito's eyes. Obito calmly returned the look, focused only on listening to the boy. Maru held eye contact for almost a minute, and then looked away. They sat in silence for a while, until Sasuke marched angrily into the room carrying what looked like a half-empty paint bucket.

"What the-" Maru began, before getting up and bolting out of the room.

 _I should ask Hinata to go after Maru, I need to talk Sasuke down before this gets out of hand_ , Obito thought to himself.

"Hinata, could you?" Obito quickly requested, and Hinata followed after Maru.

"Now I know what Anko meant by part two," Sasuke grumbled as he walked over to sit next to Obito. "How are you so relaxed about this?"

"Sasuke, take a moment to imagine what the kid's life must be like. You and I both know what people say about the Third Hokage; how do you think people treat this kid?" Obito commented. "Do you remember the looks people gave me and Naruto when we were younger? Maru has to put up with that, and unlike my brother and I, he doesn't have parents to support him."

Sasuke's expression mellowed as he took in Obito's explanation, and his fists relaxed and uncurled. "You think he just wants attention?"

Obito nodded. "He pushes people away because he's afraid of constantly being let down, but he pulls stunts like yesterday because he still wants people to notice that he exists and has worth."

"Do you think we can help him?" Sasuke asked quietly.

"I think so," Obito answered. "Shall we?"

At that moment, they heard Hinata call for help. The boys quickly stood up and ran towards the source of Hinata's voice, finding her outside.

"I'm sorry... he made a run for it." Hinata apologised, bowing her head slightly.

"Which way?" Sasuke asked hurriedly.

Hinata pointed, and then ran to chase after their escaped charge.

* * *

They had chased Maru to the base of the Hokage monument, where he was surrounded by three chunin.

"About time you caught up. Weren't you three supposed to be keeping an eye on him?" One of the chunin snapped at the three genin as they arrived.

Ignoring the chunin, Sasuke grinned. "Hey Maru, I'll race you to the top!"

For the first time since the genin trio had met the boy, he smiled back at them. "As if I'd lose to you, duckbutt!"

"Duckbutt? Oh, you'd better run!" Sasuke bantered back.

"You're not going anywhere, bra-" One of the chunin tried to say, before collapsing to the ground. A moment later, his two companions followed suit.

Behind the three collapsed chunin, Obito stood with his hands in a Rat seal, wearing a self-satisfied grin.

"Well?!" Obito shouted expectantly at Maru and Sasuke. "Off you go!"

To none of the genin's surprise, Maru set off at a bolt, running straight up the side of the monument. Sasuke chased after him, appearing to match pace so that Maru could think he was in the lead.

"Oh, we're going to get in so much trouble for this!" Hinata fretted.

"Don't you worry about that, princess," said Anko's voice from out of nowhere. "Oh, this is _priceless_!"

The figure of their sensei materialised next to one of the unconscious chunin, wheezing with laughter. "I'll take care of these three, you two better go catch up with the kid."

* * *

_Tsunade's Point of View_

_Konoha Hospital_

Between running a hospital and teaching classes, Tsunade barely caught enough of a break to pursue her own interests. Shizune would always insist that every day she didn't have time to poison her liver was a good day. Each and every time, Tsunade would remind her that as Konoha's foremost medical expert, she had her liver under control and would do as she desired. She finally had a chance to finish early and find some good booze for the first time in months... or so she thought.

"Lady Tsunade, may I please have a moment of your time?" A crackly, yet formal voice asked from behind her.

Tsunade turned to see a young teenager covered almost head to toe in a heavy grey coat. The teen's eyes were covered too, with large, tinted glasses. Noting the lack of visible expression, Tsunade inferred that the young shinobi before her was an Aburame.

"If you need medical assistance, I'm sure someone inside who is _actually on duty_ can help. Now, scram before I get annoyed," Tsunade scowled, hoping to be left to her own devices for once.

She kept walking, but noticed that the genin was walking alongside her.

"Are the rumours true about Dan Kato?" The young Aburame asked plainly.

Tsunade stopped. "And... what rumours would those be?"

"I have heard talk that you were able to develop a medical procedure to help Dan Kato become himself. Why am I asking this, you may wonder? Because... I want to become myself, too." At the young Aburame's words, Tsunade froze completely.

"Come with me," Tsunade instructed, and walk to the herb garden behind the hospital building.

Tsunade found a bench at the far end of the garden, away from any prying ears. The Aburame followed her, and they both seated themselves.

"So, do you have a name I can use?" Tsunade asked.

"Shino. I am Aburame Shino, _daughter_ of Aburame Shibi." The Aburame spoke firmly.

Tsunade noticed Shino's shoulders relax and drop back, but said nothing of it.

"Shino, I want you to understand one thing," Tsunade began, her expression growing serious. "I fully intend to help you, but I have only ever done this kind of procedure once... on Dan. This will be a process that takes time. Do you understand?"

"Yes," Shino nodded. "Thank you, Lady Tsunade."

Tsunade noticed a stray tear roll down the young kunoichi's mostly concealed face.

* * *

_Itachi's Point of View_

_Land of Fire_

An air-curdling scream filled the air, followed by incessant howling. It was just supposed to be a simple delivery mission, returning a set of scrolls containing borrowed ritual supplies to the Fire Temple. An ordinary, cut and dry C-ranked mission so that Itachi's genin could stretch their legs outside of Konoha. Sure, they could expect to run into the odd highwayman, perhaps even an organised group of bandits. Run of the mill bandits shouldn't have been a problem for Itachi's team, even without him. No, this was _very_ different.

There should have been absolutely no way this lone assailant could get the jump on them. Especially not on Aibo, the Inuzuka clan's _most_ promising young sensor. Nonetheless, the pool of blood, alongside the fact that Aibo's left arm lay a metre away from his body, told a different story.

Itachi wasted no time drawing his own blade and rushing their attacker. The assailant backed off, creating some distance and then holding ground, waiting for Itachi to give him even a single opening.

"Neji, what do you see?" Itachi shouted urgently.

"As far as I can tell, it's only him. Shiromaru?" Neji beckoned to the white dog howling by Aibo's side.

Hearing his name, Shiromaru stopped howling. The dog raised his nose to the air, and perked up his ears. Then, Shiromaru shook his snout side to side, and barked once.

 _One bark, so no additional intel,_ Itachi thought.

"Neji, Shiromaru, stay on guard! Kaya, assess injuries and give us a timeframe, then get to work!" Itachi ordered decisively, keeping the assailant in his direct line of sight.

There were two things Itachi noticed immediately. First, the attacker's face was covered by his helm, so Itachi had no way of knowing if he was making eye contact or not. Second, the attacker's armour was _too_ similar to the armour that samurai from the Land of Iron wore. There was no reason for a samurai to be in the Land of Fire, much less attacking Konoha shinobi.

When Itachi drew chakra to his eyes to activate his Sharingan, some of his questions were answered. "Neji! Do they have one or two kinds of chakra?"

"Two! What-" Neji began, before being cut off.

"I'll explain later. Stay on the defensive!" Itachi barked, and prepared to go on the offensive.

Faster than any ordinary combatant should have been able to see, Itachi sheathed his sword, retrieved several shuriken from his pouch and flung them towards the samurai. Without missing a beat, he brought his hands into a bird seal, shouting "Wind Release: Rotating Shuriken" as he infused each of the airborne shuriken with his chakra. As the shuriken closed in on the samurai, Itachi used subtle hand motions to control each shuriken's trajectory, making them encircle their target and strike from different angles.

The Samurai held his ground, deflecting most of the shuriken with incredible dexterity. One managed to hit, slicing through the samurai's armour effortlessly and nicking his arm. _Great, that's all I need_ , Itachi thought as his chakra invaded the samurai's mind, ensnaring him in a genjutsu.

"Sensei, I can give him an hour at most before he bleeds out! We need to move. Should we go without you?" Kaya called out, the tone of panic poorly concealed.

"Get ready to move on my order. We stay together, understood?" Itachi commanded, receiving a swift "yes, sensei!" From both Neji and Kaya.

The samurai ran forward and attempted to slash at Itachi, but instead cut through the air a metre to the jonin's right. Itachi moved swiftly alongside the genjutsu-ensnared samura, lifting the helm off his head and making direct eye contact. A split second after Itachi muttered the word 'Tsukiyomi', he instinctively punched with all his force at the samurai, sending the attacker flying back.

"Incoming!" Itachi barked, and not a moment too soon. Metallic shrapnel barraged the Konoha shinobi - Itachi and Neji were hard-pressed to defend their vulnerable comrades. Where the samurai once was, only cinders remained.

"What was-" stammered Kaya, who was just finishing up with her first aid efforts.

"A spiteful old _bastard_ ," Itachi spat as he turned to face his genin.

* * *

_Sakura's Point of View_

_Yamanaka Flower Shop_

Sakura entered through the store's back door and grabbed a broom. "Ino, you here?"

A blonde head popped around the corner, and smiled. "Oh, Sakura! What's up?"

"Muscles for brains, that's what." Sakura grumbled as she began to sweep dirt and petals into piles. "I'm stuck with bloody muscles for brains!"

Ino grabbed a dustpan to pick up Sakura's piles, and groaned sympathetically. "Tell me about it... I'm stuck with bloody Shikamaru. He's got a brain, but he doesn't do _anything_ with it. It's a miracle he even graduated from the Academy with that work ethic."

"We had to catch some dumb cat today, and I swear those idiots made it ten times harder," said Sakura, frustration spilling from her voice. "No strategy, they say! Just outrun the cat and catch it, they say! Five hours later, when they finally listen to me and we catch the damn cat, Guy praises us for our 'hard work'. Ino, you've _got_ to bail me out. I'm going to have a _psychotic break_!"

"Do you think they'd allow a swap? You come join us, Guy takes Shikamaru. What do you reckon?" Ino asked half-jokingly.

"I wish, but I doubt it. So, what have you been up to?" Sakura frowned, gathering up the last bit of mess from the floor.

"Exciting stuff! We painted fences today! Again!" Ino faux-cheered. "One day people will look at me and talk about how I became such a good fence-painter that they gave me a jonin promotion! Other villages will have me in their bingo books, I can just see it. Attack on sight: Yamanaka Ino, the Lady of the Fences. What a future, hey?"

The girls worked away in miserable silence for a while, until Sakura had a moment of inspiration. "Hey, Ino? Since our teams are so useless, maybe we should just train together in the evenings. You in?"

* * *

_Guy's Point of View_

_Memorial Stone_

When Guy arrived at the memorial stone, Kakashi was on his knees, clutching at his face with his hands. As he drew nearer, Guy heard the sobbing and hyperventilation, and his own heart sunk. Slowly, Guy approached Kakashi, and sat beside him. Knowing that Kakashi was in the middle of a panic attack, Guy put a supportive hand on his friend's back and spoke softly.

"Kakashi, I'm here. Listen to the sound of my voice. You're having a panic attack, but you will be okay. It will pass. Just focus on your breathing. Breathe in, and out. In... and out." Guy kept his voice gentle and steady, and paced his breathing prompts to line up with Kakashi's gradually stabilising breath patterns.

Once the attack had passed, Guy embraced Kakashi firmly, and they sat together for almost an hour until Kakashi's tears had dried up.

Finally, Guy decided to break the silence. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"I was fine," Kakashi said quietly. "Fine, until just now. There's no common ground, and these kids are... coordinated, to say the least. I know I have nothing to worry about, but I just can't shake the images from my head. These kids deserve better than me, Guy."

"They'll be hard-pressed to find better, Kakashi. Think about it - The young Inuzuka boy has a sensei with experience working alongside ninken. Higurashi's daughter can learn kenjutsu from you, and the Aburame's been suggested as a future candidate for ANBU. You have more to offer each of them than most jonin could claim, and you _care_ ," Guy insisted, as he got up off the ground

"I'll tell you what. Two of mine need someone to teach them ninjutsu. You help me with that, and I'll help work on their taijutsu. Deal?" Guy offered a hand to Kakashi. "Now let's get out of here before any of the genin see us with our masks off, we have reputations to keep."


	16. Chapter 14 - Out into the world

**AN:** Some people have been asking me when I'll expand on some major plot differences in my fic (ie the stuff with Orochimaru, Fugaku being the Hokage and similar such things). I plan to build on all of these things in good time, so don't worry!

* * *

_One month later_

_Shiranui Residence_

Before dawn had broken, Obito was woken by scattered thumping and clattering sounds that seemed to be coming from Naruto's room. Groaning, the redhead brushed his growing locks away from his eyes and tied them back into a short ponytail. Though returning to sleep was an enticing idea, Obito figured that since he was awake he should go and see his brother off.

Obito threw off his covers, rolled out of bed and went to knock on Naruto's door. The variety of percussive noises stopped, and a couple of seconds later the door opened, revealing chaos within. Scrolls, clothes and various shinobi tools were scattered everywhere, alongside all sorts of travel supplies. A half-packed backpack lay open on the blond's bed, various items spilling over the sides.

"Sorry, did I wake you?" Naruto asked at a whisper.

"Don't worry about it," Obito whispered back. "We probably won't be seeing each other for at least a couple weeks, so I'm glad I'm awake to see you off. What are you looking for?"

Obito stepped into Naruto's room and closed the door, not wanting the sound to travel too far and wake their parents. Naruto knelt over a box and began rifling through it, occasionally tossing something from within behind him.

"I still need rope and wire, and I'm short on explosive tags. I need to be at the gate in half an hour, so Higurashi's wouldn't be open in time to buy more..." Naruto trailed off in his rushed panic to get his supplies together.

"You keep looking for the rope and wire, and I'll make you some tags. Are you sure you didn't already pack them?" Obito asked quietly.

"Wait... I just bought them yesterday, maybe-" Naruto cut himself off in a moment of realisation and sprinted out of the room. By the time Obito had retrieved blank tags, ink and a brush from his own room, Naruto returned holding rope and wire.

"Do you still want more tags?" Obito asked. At Naruto's nod of affirmation, he got to work drawing up the seals.

Fifteen minutes later, Obito had changed out of his pyjamas and joined Naruto outside. The twins jogged to the village gates, Naruto's teammates were already waiting. Both Guy and Lee were unsurprisingly dressed in their usual green spandex, and carried their own travel packs. Sakura had seemingly decided against her usual pink outfits, and wore a dull green top and black utility pants. Rather than a large backpack, Sakura had a satchel slung over her shoulder.

 _Trust Sakura to be the only one to pack into sealing scrolls_ , Obito mused, chuckling to himself.

"YOSH!" Guy roared at a volume that was certainly sufficient to wake anyone in the neighbourhood. "It is time for us to embark on our first youthful adventure together!"

"Tsukigakure awaits!" Lee shouted, mirroring Guy's ridiculous enthusiasm. "And how wonderfully youthful of you, Obito, to rise so early and see your beloved brother off!"

"Oh, I'm just here to savour the moment when the gates close behind you and my freedom begins," Obito teased, earning himself an elbow to the ribs from his twin. "I'm still surprised they assigned a diplomacy mission to you guys, given it's your first C-rank mission."

"It should be a breeze," Sakura assured. "They're expecting us, and it's more of a messenger mission than anything diplomatic anyway. Delivering in person is supposed to be a sign of good faith and all that."

"Now, my young disciples, it is time for us to make haste. Farewell, young Obito!" Guy announced, and led his team out of the village.

Obito had a few hours to spare before he needed to meet with his team. Since they were also going to be taking their first C-Rank mission, Obito used the time to take inventory of his supplies and organise them into sealing scrolls. Once they received their mission specifications, he would be able to easily select the scrolls he needed and be ready for immediate departure - unlike his brother who thought it would be fine to pack at the last minute.

* * *

_Hokage Tower, Mission Assignment Hall_

Since he had so much spare time, Obito ended up getting bored and going to the Hokage Tower early. He figured that he could just sit and read until his teammates arrived. Walking into the mission assignment hall, the first thing Obito noticed was an older man who seemed to be arguing with the chunin at the desk.

"You better give me the best you've got," the man demanded assertively, though without any aggression. "Alright?"

"Sir," one of the chunin responded calmly. "You'll get what you've paid for. But I can assure you that the team assigned to your request will be more than capable of completing it."

The desk chunin looked up and seemed to notice Obito walk in, and called out just as Obito was reaching for a book. "Oi, Obito, get over here!"

Obito dropped the book back into his pouch and approached the desk. "Morning Kotetsu. Hey, can I borrow one of those giant kunai? I need something to butter my bread with." The redhead smirked as he teased the chunin before him, though all in good-spirited humour.

"Ugh," Kotetsu groaned. "It's too early for your cheek, give me a break. Besides, I doubt you'd even be able to cut through butter with your little noodle arms."

"True," Obito sighed, feigning a forlorn look at Kotetsu's return quip. Then, putting jokes aside, Obito smiled congenially. "Did you hear that we're getting our first C-rank mission today? I hope you have something good for us!"

The older man seemed to finally noticed Obito's presence, and gave him a lazy once over. "Sorry, did I hear right? This _kid_ is taking shinobi missions? I thought you were supposed to be one of the more reputable hidden villages..."

Obito could smell alcohol on the man's breath, though he seemed to balance well and speak clearly. The young genin was about to respond by proving his capability to 'reassure' the man before Kotetsu cut in, smirking in a way that raised Obito's suspicions. _Oh, shit. Well, good thing I didn't do anything too crazy_.

"Actually, Obito, this is Tazuna. He's a bridge builder from the Land of Waves, seeking to hire a team of protectors to guard him and his workers until they complete their bridge. Tazuna, this is Uzumaki Obito..." Kotetsu's smirk lifted into thinly veiled mirth. "He's one of the fine shinobi who'll be protecting you."

Tazuna choked and coughed, his face slightly reddening. "I'm sorry, what?! I paid you Leaf folk good money, and you're sending me back with _kids_?"

Kotetsu raised an eyebrow. He sifted through a small pile of papers, and pulled out a single sheet, quickly scanning it. "Tazuna, sir, it says here exactly how much you paid. The most we can assign is an appropriate team for a C-rank mission, and even that's generous."

Obito took it upon himself to chime in, oblivious to the poor delivery of his reasoning. "Besides, you won't do much better. We're the closest Hidden Village to Wave Country, and with your apparently limited funds, the cost of safely getting to another village will probably leave you unable to afford a new team."

"The kid's right, ya geezer," announced the voice of Anko who had characteristically appeared out of nowhere and was now leaning with her elbow on Obiot's head. "Of course, you could try your luck at Sunagakure - their economy is starved enough they might take your job, if you can make it there alive. That said, you ain't got nothing to worry about - my three little munchkins are more than enough to look after you."

On cue, Kotetsu picked up one of the many scrolls laid out at his desk and handed it to Anko - the latter of whom had decided to continue leaning on Obito indefinitely. Anko quickly unfurled the scroll and began to read over its contents. "Standard bodyguarding? Should be fun. The _little ones_ will get to see another country with their own eyes, too!"

Tazuna very visibly noticed Anko's sly jab at his reservations. He grumbled in resignation, and took a swig from the bottle he was carrying. "Eh, fine. So, what now?"

"The mission will take at least a couple weeks, so we'll need to gather our supplies and then meet at the village gate. When you're ready, I'll escort you to take care of any business you might have, and we'll depart in one hour." Anko answered more formally.

* * *

_Konoha Village Gate_

An hour later, Obito made it back to the village gates, fully prepared for their extended trip. The process of gathering his belongings was well streamlined; unlike his brother, Obito kept his more important belongings categorised by a coded sealing scroll system, allowing him to easily pick out exactly what he needed. As a result, it took him only a few minutes to pack everything he needed into one torso-sized sealing scroll he could sling over his back. Strapped to the back of his waist was the sheathed black wakizashi that Hayate had given him, the hilt emerging on Obito's right. He was dressed in a light black jacket, and deep navy pants. All the clothing he'd packed was devoid of any clan symbols, to minimise recognition by any enemies they encountered.

On arrival, Obito noticed that Hinata was already waiting, patiently sitting on a bench by the large village gates. The girl was wearing a variant of her usual cream-coloured attire, without the flame emblems. Beside her was a padded box with back straps, presumably containing her needed belongings. As Obito drew closer, he realised something was different - Hinata was wearing some kind of contacts to mask her Byakugan.

"Oh, good morning, Obito," Hinata greeted with a gentle smile. "Are you feeling ready?"

Obito swung the 'outer' scroll off his back, and dropped it beside Hinata. "Oh, definitely. Time for us to get out there and see the rest of the world, huh?"

Hinata looked towards the gates, with an expression that Obito interpreted as not just longing, but almost desperation. "Yeah..." She then turned back to face Obito again, the look on her face replaced entirely with one of polite calm.

Obito wanted to find something to say that would pick up conversation - Hinata had been more reserved than usual in the last month, and he wanted to check in and see how she was going. She didn't talk much about her sessions with Ibiki, which Obito knew was her absolute right, but she also didn't talk much about anything outside of missions and training either. Before Obito had a chance to get a word in, Sasuke made his presence known by dropping out of the sky.

The Uchiha boy had either decided to take the rooftop route all the way to the gates, or was just making a dramatic entrance by leaping off a building towards his teammates. Obito was inclined to believe the latter; Sasuke was always one for posturing that would make him 'look cool'. Seeing his attire, Obito shook his head pityingly. Sasuke had decided that a navy shirt and light shorts were appropriate attire for the mission, and Obito hoped that he had the sense to pack something warmer.

"Yo!...Do I even wanna know what that scroll's for?" Sasuke sounded apprehensive, understandably wary of any situation that involved both Uzumaki Obito and any form of fuinjutsu. Obito proceeded to explain that it was just a sealing scroll, and suggested that his teammates let him seal their packs into it so that they would be less encumbered.

Sasuke was in the middle of giving an update on Inuzuka Aibo's recovery status when Tazuna arrived, accompanied by Anko. It was no secret that Sasuke had a tense relationship with his brother that formed the basis for a mild inferiority complex. Still, the fact that Sasuke made time to visit Itachi's injured student to try and lighten his brother's emotional burden spoke volumes.

Unsurprisingly, Anko had her hands full with several skewers of dango. Obito supposed that she had decided to stock up for the trip, but also knew that Anko would devour them all within the first couple hours of travel.

"Right. Well, should we get going now?" Tazuna suggested impatiently, quite apparently not enjoying his company of the past hour.

* * *

The group walked in a standard protective formation under Anko's instruction. The tokujo sensei had pointed out that an ambush could always come out of nowhere, and a good formation would be critical in keeping the client alive in such a scenario. Anko and Obito each walked on either side of Tazuna. Hinata and Sasuke took the front and back respectively, each staying a few paces ahead or behind the central trio.

They had walked in silence, at first, the mood soured by Tazuna's general disgruntlement. Eventually, Anko broke the silence. "Obito, take this. I want to see it for myself," said Anko, as she passed a small slip of paper to her student.

Recognising the paper, Obito raised one eyebrow in a mix of amusement and irritation. "Seriously? You've read my file, and you've been training us for a month. What, am I just some kind of party trick to you? Ugh, fine."

Taking the slip of paper from Anko, Obito allowed a small amount of his chakra to travel out of his fingers. For a few seconds, nothing happened. And then, the paper started to fade. Over the course of several seconds it went from an ordinary, opaque, _obviously solid_ piece of paper into what seemed like a translucent film. Finally, nothing; as though the paper had never existed to begin with.

"Huh," said Anko as she stared at the empty space where the paper used to exist, wearing on her face a look of mild interest.

"Huh," echoed Tazuna, less on the intrigued side and more on the startled side. "I take it that's not supposed to happen?"

Anko shook her head, and procured another slip of chakra induction paper. "This is a special kind of paper that we sometimes use to find out what type of chakra our rookie shinobi have. There are five core chakra elements - fire, water, earth, wind and lightning. Every shinobi has a natural affinity towards one of these elements. By allowing some chakra to flow into the paper, a shinobi can find out their affinity depending on what happens to it. If someone with an affinity for fire puts chakra into this paper..."

The paper in Anko's hand caught aflame, and burned down until it was naught more than ash. "The paper burns. If the affinity is water, the paper will become wet. For earth, it will turn to dirt and crumble away. Wind chakra splits the paper. And lightning..." Anko handed another piece of the paper to Hinata, who obligingly made the paper crinkle up between her fingers.

"...crinkles like so," Anko continued.

"But the ginger brat's paper did none of those things. How come?" Tazuna asked, scratching his wispy beard.

"For some reason, I don't have an affinity for any of the five elements. As it turns out, not only do I lack the affinity for any of these elements, I lack the ability to use them," Obito explained. "Instead, I have an affinity for a special kind of chakra called Yin chakra. The reason my _mature and professional_ sensei thinks it's a party trick is that no shinobi in recorded history has had a primary affinity for Yin."

Anko poked out her tongue mockingly at Obito, who rolled his eyes in response. "If I had a ryo for every time someone handed me chakra paper and asked me to show them what happens, I'd have... around 10 ryo, so clearly this isn't much of a party trick."

"This coming from the guy who's always complaining about people lacking curiosity," Sasuke scoffed good-naturedly.

"I guess you've got me there," Obito conceded with a chuckle.

Now that the mood had lightened up, the group continued to chat and banter as they walked. Sasuke seemed to be interested in the lifestyle of the people of Wave, whilst Obito was enjoying learning about the mechanical nuances of bridge masonry. Hinata seemed content walking quietly and listening, which was of no shock to the others.

The conversation about bridge-building was beginning to taper off when Anko's body language changed subtly, becoming tense in a way that none of the genin had the training yet to notice. "I gotta go take a piss - you guys keep going and I'll catch up," Anko said unabashedly, and turned to walk away from the dirt path. Hinata let out a quiet 'eep' of surprise at Anko's immodesty, still undergoing some form of culture shock having grown up in the _Hyuuga_ clan - where everything had to be right and proper.

As the genin walked, feeling vulnerable without their powerful sensei nearby, Obito noticed something strange. A lone puddle lay along the dirt path, unaccompanied even by any damp spots. The sky was clear, and had been so the whole morning - something was off. Obito's first instinct was to assume that this was one of Anko's traps - over the last month she had made something of a habit of trying to catch her students off guard at any hour of the day. Then he remembered that this was a real mission, and it was entirely possible that they were walking into an actual ambush.

"Hinata, heads up! We may have company," Obito whispered with a mix of urgency and caution.

Due to the kunoichi's lack of real mission experience, there was a short delay between Obito's words and her doujutsu activating - a short delay that came at a real price. By the time Hinata's Byakugan allowed her to see the two figures disguised within the puddle ahead, they had already leapt out in a coordinated attack. The attackers wielded a clawed gauntlet each, connected to one another by a long bladed chain. Landing on either side of Hinata, the assailants manoeuvred their chain in an attempt to encircle and ensnare her. Fortunately, Hinata's quick reflexes allowed her to bat away the chain and step out of its impending grasp - unfortunately, her evasive movement positioned the attackers right in between her and Tazuna.

As soon as Hinata had deflected the chain, Sasuke had leapt into the air and hurled a shuriken which struck the chain and pulled it - and the assailants - towards the roadside trees. Just as quickly, the chain seemed to fall away from the gauntlets, allowing the attackers to move freely.

Without a moment of hesitation, the two attackers were flying towards Tazuna from two sides. Obito drew his wakizashi, moving to intercept one of the attackers. He instantly regretted the decision, realising that his intensive kenjutsu training had conditioned him to resort first to his blade when he could and should have enclosed himself and Tazuna within a barrier seal.

Hinata had managed to position herself on the other side of Tazuna in time, and the two of them were able to hold off the attackers long enough for Sasuke to show off the fruits of his own training. Without warning, two orbs of flame shot at the assailants from overhead. As sudden and rapid as they were, the attackers were clearly faster, given the two small, smoking craters left along the roadside.

Hinata was the first to turn, stepping to intercept one of the attackers who had yet again leapt at Tazuna - making it clear that he was their target. The attacker made the mistake of trying to face off Hinata, clearly unaware of her particular skill set. He slashed at her with his claw, and while he was fast, Hinata was able to keep up and tap once, twice, and thrice across his arm. The man let out a grunt as his arm fell limp. Disadvantaged enough by his now paralyzed arm, the attacker made for the treeline in an attempt to escape. Unfortunately for him, the branch he had chosen to first land on was occupied by the figure of Anko, who seemed to be carrying the body of the assailant's partner over her shoulder. Anko's fist was swiftly introduced to the would-be escapee's abdomen, and he fell back to the ground with a _thump_.

"Passable response," Anko commented as she dropped to the ground, letting the second attacker fall from her grasp with another _thump_. "Could have been better, but at least nobody's injured. Congratulations on surviving your first encounter with _enemy shinobi_." The last two words dripped with an odd mix of venom and intrigue as Anko turned to glare at Tazuna.

* * *

Once Team 6 had dragged their failed attackers far enough from the road that they wouldn't be disturbed, and then tied them securely to a sturdy tree, Anko turned again to Tazuna. "So, who did you piss off to need protection from Kirigakure shinobi?" Anko asked in an almost-too-casual tone.

"Me?" Tazuna protested, attempting to deny responsibility. "How about you explain why you left the fighting to your kids," Tazuna retorted, trying to assert himself over the aloof kunoichi. "I'm no fool - there's no way you just happened to need to take a piss right before what was obviously an ambush."

"Hah, you've got some balls. I had to find out who their target was, so I needed these two fine chaps to think I wouldn't be around. From what I gather, _you're_ the target. Plus, I needed to see how well my kids could handle themselves against real enemies," Anko responded nonchalantly. "Now, when you filed a request for _standard protection_ , you mentioned nothing about being hunted by shinobi. This mission is now at least a B-rank, and you only paid for C-rank protection."

Anko's sentence ended with intonation that suggested she wasn't done talking - and yet, she said no more. Silence held for a confusing moment.

"So... Are you just going to go back to Konoha now?" Tazuna asked cautiously.

"What? Nah, this sounds like fun," Anko laughed cheekily, leaving Tazuna confused and mildly apprehensive. The three genin were used to Anko's bullshit and just decided to go with the flow. "A humble bridge-builder from a small island country, set upon by shinobi in an attempted assassination!"

"Fun? Not that I want to go against your willingness to continue protecting me, but will these _kids_ be okay?" Tazuna asked, seemingly torn between wanting protection and not wanting to have dead child soldiers on his conscience.

The sound of Sasuke smacking his forehead with his palm drew Tazuna's conflicted attention. "Gramps, if Anko thought we couldn't handle it we'd already be half-way back to Konoha by now. So, are you going to give us the full story, or what?"

* * *

_One of Gato's hideouts in the Land of Waves_

"Failed?! What do you mean, failed?" The short businessman stood aggressively, spraying saliva as he spoke. A look of offended indignance marred his pudgy, stubbly face. "I paid you guys a lot of money because you're supposed to be skilled shinobi!"

Upon hearing of the Demon Brothers' failure, Gato and his assistant had immediately gone to confront the leader of the shinobi he had hired. The strange treehouse had an unpleasant atmosphere to it, and Gato felt as though he shouldn't be made to spend a second more than necessary in this foul place. The shinobi group's leader lounged on a sofa passively, as though he didn't appreciate the importance of his wealthy employer.

"Shut your damn trap," the shinobi groaned, more irritated than he was affronted. Wrapping his hands around the hilt of his gigantic sword, the man casually twirled the blade through the air as though it was weightless, halting its movement when it was pointed directly at Gato's small form. Almost immediately, Gato's demeanor shifted from one of aggression to fear as he flinched and began to shake. "Just leave it to me and my _Kubikiribocho_."

* * *

_Wave Country_

As the canoe steadily pushed through the misty waters dividing Wave from Fire, Tazuna explained the situation regarding the corrupt businessman Gato and his influence over Wave.

"The Land of Waves is a poor nation. Our feudal lord has no money, and neither do us civilians. A C-Rank mission was the most I could afford to pay, even with many others pitching in. I do understand if you want to turn back once we land ashore. However, if you do, I will certainly be killed," Tazuna explained solemnly, before his face lifted into one of sardonic jest. "No need to worry, though! If I die, my cute eight year-old grandson will just cry his heart out! And then, my daughter will just have to blame Konoha and its shinobi for the rest of her life as she grieves in solitude. She's a widowed single mother, you know!"

"Huh?" Anko raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, it wouldn't be your fault, though!" Tazuna chuckled, the sarcasm only _mildly_ present in his voice.

It was Sasuke who spoke up, in a tone of moderate annoyance. "Seriously, gramps? You know we already said we were continuing with the mission."

"Oh," Tazuna exclaimed. "I'm glad to hear it!"

The group arrived in a small, notably mistless port, populated by shabby wooden houses, and the ferryman bid them farewell. Tazuna explained that he lived in another village a half-hour's walk away, and led them along a path past the port. Obito couldn't help but notice the few locals they passed by. They seemed just a little malnourished, and their expressions were hollow and devoid of hope or inspiration.

The walk was seemingly uneventful, until...

"Duck!" Anko shouted suddenly. Everyone reacted quickly, a metallic mass soaring overhead. The mass lodged itself into a tree, revealing itself to be a giant cleaver-like blade. A tall, muscular man wearing a Kiri hitai-ate landed on the handle of the blade, looking down at Tazuna and his group of shinobi protectors.

"Well, I'll be damned," Anko exclaimed. "Gato must be really concerned about that bridge if he's hired the Demon of the Hidden Mist."


	17. Chapter 15 - Broken Waves, Part 1

**AN:** Get hyped, y'all, for I am learning how to draw. I'm hoping that by the time we reach Stage 3 of the Chunin exam arc I'll be good enough to draw out some of the battle matchups 333

And thanks a whole bunch to [Karamidori](https://archiveofourown.org/users/karamidori/pseuds/karamidori) for beta'ing and hyping me up

* * *

"I don't know who you are, but you'll be handing over that old man right now... If you know what's good for you." Perched on his giant sword half-way up a tree, Zabuza towered over the Konoha shinobi intimidatingly. Obito could tell that this guy was on a different level than the Demon Brothers who ambushed them earlier. Though he knew Anko was a powerful shinobi in her own right, Obito felt on edge, as though he _needed_ to be ready to run at a moment's notice.

"Well, you see, I'm not someone who knows 'what's good for me'," Anko grinned devilishly. Zabuza's response was to leap towards the nearby water, leaving his sword impaled in the tree. He began visibly channeling chakra, and water rose to spiral around him. Rather than try to interfere, Anko began issuing orders to the genin as quickly as she could, before the world around them went white.

* * *

_Day One_

The creaky door to Tazuna's home swung open, and Team 6 were greeted by a gasp from the dark-haired woman within. Obito registered the woman's reaction to their entrance, but deemed it unimportant in the current situation, instead choosing to keep his focus on the body of his unconscious sensei. Her weight was being supported by Sasuke and Hinata and her legs dragged against the ground as they walked. Obito followed less than a single pace behind, his green-glowing hands pressed firmly over a deep red gash that coloured the skin above her waist.

Anko's body was gently lowered onto a large mat that covered the wooden was finally able to assist Obito in attending to their sensei's wounds. With their combined efforts, they were able to clean and dress the wound after repairing what damage they could. They were both still medical trainees, which was made clear by their inability to completely heal the wound. This meant that Anko would need to rest for up to a day before doing anything physical, else risk reopening the wound.

When Hinata and Obito emerged from the room they were treating Anko in, Obito finally took in the scene around him. The dark-haired woman seemed to be more relieved than anything to see Tsunami, and had pulled him into the kitchen where she was flitting around constantly whilst preparing some form of feast. Obito's heart sank at the sight, knowing full well that the people of Wave were not well off and likely had little food to spare. Sasuke was standing with his back to a wall off in the corner, a troubled look marring his face.

Tazuna seemed to notice Hinata and Obito emerge from the side room they had rushed into, and turned his attention towards them. "How is she?"

"She will need to rest a while, but Anko-sensei will make a full recovery," Hinata responded clearly, in the tone Shizune had once taught them to use when addressing the comrades and family members of patients.

"...That's good, at least. In the meantime, why don't we make introductions? Everyone, this is my daughter, Tsunami. Tsunami, this is Sasuke, Hinata and Obito - three of the shinobi who are here to guard me. You'll also get to meet my grandson, Inari, when we sit down to eat. So... What now?"

The three genin exchanged glances at Tazuna's question, Hinata and Sasuke both looking expectantly at Obito. "Anko probably won't wake until tomorrow, and we need to act sooner rather than later. That person who intervened in our fight was wearing the mask of Kirigakure's Hunter Shinobi. But... Kiri's Hunters usually destroy the corpses of their targets immediately, and this person took Zabuza's body away. Something wasn't right about that, and so I doubt we've seen the last of Momochi Zabuza.

"We're in enemy territory with little information to work with, and unknown enemies. Our most powerful team member will be incapacitated for at least a couple of days, so we cannot afford to be in the dark. Until we have Anko back, or at least a better picture of what we're up against, I don't think that Tazuna should return to the bridge."

* * *

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" A deep voice sounded out hesitantly. "I mean, shouldn't we at least wait until Anko-sensei wakes up?"

"We need to get the lay of the land here, Sasuke," came a softer, higher pitched reply. "I'm sure Anko will understand. Besides, I have the perfect skill set for this kind of espionage. If my cover gets blown, I can escape within seconds."

The two transformed shinobi walked towards the bar that Tazuna had told them about, trying to act as though they belonged. Once they neared the establishment, Sasuke peeled off to look for a good vantage point to hide, leaving Obito to go in alone. Looking around, Obito was easily able to identify his choice of targets. Most of the people within were lifeless, devoid of any of the spirit typical of people winding down with a drink after a hard day at work. Obito would have expected a combination of those who were ready to let out pent up energy, and those who just wanted to drink and relax. The atmosphere, however, was nothing short of _tense_. The only outliers were the two _armed_ men who seemed to be enjoying harassing a mild-mannered man behind the counter.

 _Bingo_ , thought Obito as he approached the counter. A few sweet words sufficed to lure one of the men outside and into an alleyway beside the bar - a promise of an evening together in the enticing confines of 'her' empty home. Once Obito and his target were well into the alleyway and out of site, he turned to face the thug with a smile. A line of shock crept into the man's face when he noticed that the smile was not one of lust. No, it was a smile of satisfaction that betrayed deception. Two fingers and the thumb of each hand joined to form an open circle pointed directly at the thug, and Obito enunciated the words "Mind Body Switch Technique" before collapsing to the ground.

Even with his body transformed, Obito wasn't used to the unsettling sensory transition. It was fast enough that he could watch his own body fall to the ground. There was a nagging discomfort in his mind; one that _knew_ that this wasn't his body. Obito gave the long, dangly arms a shake to acclimatise, accidentally knocking the sword at the body's hip. He performed a few routine stretches, buying some time - after all, the other thug wouldn't expect his return so soon.

A short while later, Obito walked out of the alleyway and let out a haphazard whistle - a cue for Sasuke. Still under the transformed disguise of a stubbly worker, Sasuke crossed Obito's path and into the alleyway. "Be careful, okay?" Obito allowed himself a subtle nod at Sasuke's words, and returned to the pub whilst his teammate collected his real body.

"Oh, man," Obito exclaimed boldly as he walked back into the pub, stretching his arms up into the air. "I really needed that!"

The genin tried to keep his expression and body language casual, masking the worry that he would blow his cover. Sliding into the seat next to the other thug, Obito grabbed a half-empty drink and raised it to his lips. His 'friend' gave him an odd look, and Obito struggled to parse the meaning behind it. Was he acting out of character, or perhaps was the other guy envious of the attention he believed his 'friend' to have gotten?

"Damn, Zori, that was fast. Where's the chick?" The thug grunted, gazing with disappointment at his empty glass.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Obito put on a smirk. He knew he had to keep his wording vague at first, until he'd gotten a good read on how to act.

"Tch, you were never one to share. Drinks ran dry, we should head back." The thug lazily pushed himself up off his stool, knocking his glass to the floor. He seemed entirely unfazed by the panicked reaction of the barkeep, or the many shards of glass now scattered across the floor. Obito got up again with a 'Hmph', and followed the man out of the bar.

* * *

Though the island of Wave was small, it was still disconcerting that the walk to what appeared to be Gato's headquarters took less than ten minutes - having the enemy practically on one's doorstep was not remotely conducive to relaxation. Obito kept up the chatter with his 'comrade', slowly getting a feel for the personality of 'Zori' and becoming more confident in his facade. The headquarters were guarded by a pair of burly men with spiked clubs. They greeted 'Zori' and the other man, whose name was apparently 'Waraji' with distaste, stepping aside to allow Waraji to push open the doors.

Obito tried as discreetly as he could to look around, trying to find out as much as he could about enemy territory. At this time of night, it was reasonably quiet - a few armed individuals were lounging about on various pieces of furniture. A sound of heavy footsteps crescendoed as a short, pudgy man in a suit paced angrily down a hallway towards Obito and Waraji. He seemed to be looking directly at Obito. The genin's breath caught, a lapse in judgement allowing him to fear that he'd been caught out.

"Zori! I have a job for you to do _right now_!" The man spat aggressively, still pacing towards Obito with fury.

"Sir," Obito intoned flatly, not quite sure how to address this man who he suspected was Gato himself.

"You're going to go to that bastard shinobi Zabuza and his tag-along bitch and give them a message. You tell them that if they don't deal with that damn builder and his guards within a _week_ , they're FIRED! Darn shinobi talks big, but can't walk the fucking walk."

"Sir." Obito nodded, realising instantly that he didn't know _where_ to go. "Are they in..."

"That fucking icebox, yes. Go, NOW!" Gato roared, and Obito set off. _Icebox, huh? Probably someplace cold._ Obito's extrapolation turned out to be reliable. Waraji didn't follow, so he was free to roam the corridors in search of a drop in heat that would betray the location of Zabuza.

The sought-after drop in room temperature was quite noticeable, as Obito began seeing condensation from his breathing. He moved in the direction of the cold, eventually being led to a room at the end of a winding hallway. Cautiously, Obito raised a hand to knock at the door. Before even reaching the door, a wave of malice burst towards him, making him flinch away. The door opened, revealing a deceptively gentle figure. The gentle face with long, neat hair and a tidy kimono were betrayed by eyes that glared daggers at Obito. They spoke of a person who had one sole purpose, and refused to be slowed down by anyone or anything. "What?" The figure spat.

Obito coughed, trying to regain his composure so that he could stay in 'character'. "The boss says that you have seven days, or you ain't getting paid."

"You can tell Gato that we _will_ get the job done. On the seventh day, we will finish this. You can also tell him that I will personally _kill_ anyone he sends to do the job in our place. Now leave! My master needs his rest." The words came in a tone that wasn't quite venom - there was hardly any anger. Just crystal-clear _resolve_.

Obito gulped, sneaking a glance through the partially open doorway. He could see part of a body stretched out on a bed, and a _familiar mask_ on a small table beside the bed. _Huh, so we were right. The supposed 'Hunter' is allied with Zabuza. But why the deception, why not just join forces to take us out at the beginning?_

The door slammed shut in Obito's face, and he realised he'd been staring. Reminding himself that he was still in enemy territory and needed to focus on learning what he could, Obito turned and set off down the hallway to find Gato.

Passing doorway after doorway, Obito eventually heard Gato's voice from within one of the rooms. Though a misguided natural instinct wanted to complete the 'task' he was assigned and deliver the return message to Gato, Obito caught himself and stopped by the door. Electing not to press his ear to the gaps incase someone did walk by and blow his cover, Obito simply stood and listened.

"Are you sure, sir? Double-crossing him doesn't seem wise." One voice advised with a mild tone of panic.

"You fool! Gah, I'm stuck with such idiots everywhere! We'll let Zabuza and his bitch fight it out with those Konoha shinobi. Once they've killed each other off, the survivors will be too tired to resist, which is when we strike. As if I'd pay that bastard a single coin when I can just use him and kill him after. This is why I'm in charge, and not you, you fucking fool!" Gato's voice snarled.

 _The plot thickens_ , Obito mused to himself. Hearing footsteps approach the door from within, Obito quickly stepped back and raised a fist as though about to knock. The door opened to reveal Gato's small, angry form. "Well? What did they say?"

"Sir, Zabuza appears to be injured. The kid said they'd take out the bridge-builder in seven days. Uh... Also, that if you sent anyone to fulfil the mission in his place, the kid would..." Obito forced a gulp.

"Would what, Zori? What happened to you that you're afraid of a _little girl_? Ah, I don't care! Report back in the morning, we have shipments to collect." Gato rested his hands on a cane, upper lips raised into a frustrated snarl.

Obito realised that he'd probably broken character, and shouldn't take any more risks. Having been dismissed, he found a private place within the building and pressed his hands together, releasing his jutsu. A powerful tug yanked at his consciousness, and Obito found himself staring up at the wooden ceiling of Tazuna's home. It had gotten quite late, and Obito had confirmed that they were not in any immediate danger. Feeling the enticing pull of fatigue, Obito allowed his eyes to close as he drifted off to sleep.

The following morning, Obito was woken early _once again_ by the sound of clattering objects nearby. Reminding himself that he was far outside of Konoha, and so was Naruto, and therefore this could not be Naruto, Obito pushed himself up to go and investigate. Following the source of the sound in the still somewhat unfamiliar house, Obito arrived in the spacious kitchen. Unfolding before him was a familiar scene - Anko was haphazardly tossing things about, apparently attempting to make food.

"Um... sensei? What are you doing?" Obito asked tentatively, partly concerned with respecting the home they were staying in and partly concerned with Anko's healing injuries.

"Eh? Making breakfast, obviously. I just can't seem to find a darned pot amongst all these frying pans." Anko replied casually.

"Do you even know where you are?" Obito checked, now wondering if Anko had sustained a head injury that he and Hinata had failed to notice.

"Yeah, we're in Tazuna's home. Nice job on the healing, by the way. And I suppose the salve was Hinata's?" Anko praised, rifling through a cupboard until she finally found a large cast iron pot.

"Are you not worried about... you know... waking everyone up?" Obito groaned, a judgy tone creeping into his voice.

Anko stared at him, as though she hadn't even considered the possibility. "Oh! Ah well, at least there'll be food. Geez, I'm starving!"

Obito had never seen this seemingly careless side to Anko before, and his worries that Anko took a hit to the head grew larger. "Are you feeling alright?"

"What? Never better! So, give me an update - what did I miss?" A trout had somehow materialised itself in Anko's hands, and she got to work cutting it apart and deboning it with a kunai.

Obito sighed, his fears realised as a dazed Tsunami emerged from the nearby staircase. She took in the scene around her, panic growing rapidly on her now-alert face. "Wha?" She sputtered, looking as though she'd never seen her kitchen in this state before.

"Sorry, sorry. I'll clean it all up when I'm done, don't you worry!" Anko tried to placate Tsunami, who huffed before leaving to go back up the stairs. Obito sighed again, wondering how such a composed, _cunning_ shinobi could devolve into... this. "So, Obito? You gonna fill me in, or what?"

* * *

_Day Two_

"So," Anko began, now sitting cross-legged with food in front of her. "We have six more days, huh? At least, if they're trustworthy."

"But this all begs the question - if Gato is paying Zabuza and that fake Hunter shinobi to kill Tazuna, why didn't they just finish the job yesterday?" Obito pressed "I... I know it's probably naive and optimistic, but I have a feeling that this doesn't have to end in bloodshed between shinobi. If Zabuza is getting played, why don't we try and prove it to him and join forces to deal with Gato?"

Anko's eyes set into a piercing gaze focused on Obito's own. "Damn right you're being naive. Momochi Zabuza has no reason to trust us, and we can't take chances here. Going up against shinobi like him, it's kill or be killed."

Obito gulped, feeling somewhat suffocated by the intensity of Anko's glare. He wanted to be right, wanted to find a way to resolve this without having to fight Zabuza again. Obito definitely didn't want to fight the kid who was looking after him either. Anko then ate in silence, sitting opposite Obito. One by one, the rest of the team trickled in, along with Tazuna and a still-grumpy Tsunami.

"Alrighty, the whole gang's here!" Anko exclaimed, once everyone was seated around the table with their food. "We're expecting a rematch with Momochi Zabuza in six days, according to Obito's intel. Until then, each day one of you will go with Tazuna to the bridge and stay on guard, and the other two will come with me to train in the forest."

"Sensei? I think it would make more sense for me to stay on guard the whole time. If we're anticipating a trap, it would make more sense for me to go and set up some traps of our own. Besides, I stand to gain the least from a week of training out here." Obito suggested matter-of-factly.

"Sure, that's fine by me," Anko agreed. "We'll start today. Sasuke, Hinata, finish eating and get your stuff."

"Wait... Why don't we just take the fight to Gato? Zabuza is injured, right? Surely now is the time to strike!" Sasuke proposed insistently. "Why wait?"

"I... I think that..." Hinata started, struggling with her words. Obito had noticed that Hinata rarely stammered or stuttered anymore, and it only happened when she was surprised or talking about something very personal. "I think we shouldn't attack now. We're on Gato's home ground. Maybe we can win, but Gato might have allies who would take revenge... Or maybe... maybe people here won't know what to do with Gato gone. Then they could... they could become resentful."

"Hinata is absolutely correct. With limited information about the state of Wave country, we're better off just fulfilling our mission for now." Anko agreed, to which Sasuke seemed to flinch a bit, electing to stare downwards at the table.

_Orochimaru-sensei, I think it may be time to make good use of your generous gift..._

* * *

_Day Three_

The following day, Obito made sure to wake up earlier than the rest. Just because he wasn't training with his team didn't mean that he wasn't training _at all_. And this was a kind of training that he had to do alone, in secrecy. If word got back to Konoha that he was doing this without supervision... Jiraiya would be upset and Orochimaru disappointed. But Yamato... Yamato would be furious. The poor guy went through so much because of the twins, and this was probably sullying the spirit of his efforts. People say that Orochimaru is scary, but those people haven't met Yamato.

Obito quietly crept out of the house, making his way to the forest under the cover of early morning darkness. Once he had found a peaceful spot amongst the trees, Obito sat himself down cross-legged. He opened his right hand, splaying his fingers and allowing an intricate flow of chakra to flow to each fingertip. One by one, the fingertips became shrouded with the blue light of chakra, dancing like flames in a gentle wind. With his left hand, Obito raised his top to expose his abdomen. Obito pressed the chakra-coated fingers to his belly and twisted, loosening his seal ever so slightly. Then, with focus and intent, Obito closed his eyes and welcomed the sensation of falling as he entered his mindscape.

"You again," Kurama snarled, acknowledging Obito's presence outside his cage. "When will you stop coming to pester me?"

"Don't act as if you don't enjoy our conversations, Kurama. I can't imagine it's terribly exciting in here, all on your own," Obito teased back. After many, many conversations with the fox, Obito had grown far more comfortable conversing with him. He knew, not only from the vague memories of a past life, but from his own experience, that Kurama the evil beast others made him out to be. Kurama responded to Obito's teasing with a "Hmph" that the boy chose to ignore.

"Things have gotten pretty interesting out here. We're on our first mission outside of Konoha, and Anko took a heavy injury fighting one of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist. I did some scouting, and it turns out there's a fair bit of foul play going on amongst our enemies, which I fully plan to exploit. Sound interesting?" Obito sat cross-legged, facing the fox, his arms on the ground behind him supporting his weight as he leaned back.

Silence stretched out a while, until Kurama finally spoke again. "Tell me about these enemies of yours."

"Well, we're in an island country called Wave, on a mission to guard a man who wants to build a bridge that will connect Wave to Fire. There's a shady businessman named Gato who runs a shipping company here in Wave. He has financial control over the country, and doesn't want this bridge to get built. So, he's hired shinobi to assassinate the builder, Tazuna. When I say hired, I mean he's promised the shinobi money, but plans to betray them. Honestly, he seems arrogant and impulsive, and it wouldn't be hard to topple his little empire if not for the shinobi he has 'working' for him," Obito explained. "The troublesome part is that one of these shinobi seems to be stronger than Anko."

"Interesting. How do you plan to survive this?" Kurama asked, his common grumpiness replaced with mild intrigue.

"I want to get the ear of these shinobi Gato has hired, and prove to them that he's planning to double-cross them. If I can convince them to betray _him_ , we won't have to fight. They can just take the money they were supposed to be paid, and be on their way." Obito answered.

"And what of the money here in this 'Wave'? You humans can't go on without your systems of money being stable, and removing a wealthy controller will surely bring great instability. Have you even thought this through?" Kurama scoffed, trying to act dispassionate. Ever since Kurama had started opening up to conversation a week ago, Obito became more and more sure that the fox just wanted something novel in his life.

"Of course, what do you take me for? If I can, I'd like to convince Zabuza, the swordsman, to leave some of Gato's money to be used as a stimulus fund for the people of Wave. Rather than giving it out to all of them, we could suggest they use the money to order a shipment of food and supplies. With the supplies, they can begin producing things to sell, and with the bridge being built they can engage in trade to revive their economy. It will be slow, but it should work in their favour." Obito smiled excitedly. He didn't have anyone to talk about his plans and ideas with outside of Konoha other than Kurama, and so he revelled in the opportunity. Kurama was clever, and often asked tough questions that Obito enjoyed pondering.

"And what if you cannot convince this swordsman to ally or truce with you?" Kurama prodded.

"Then, we fight. I don't want to pressure you, but I could use your help if it comes to that." Obito requested carefully, wanting to stay true to his words about not pressuring the fox - he was worried his tone or request would come across otherwise.

Kurama hummed contemplatively, and then spoke. "You have it. You may have my aid."

"I... what?"

"You heard me, brat. Don't make me change my mind. I won't be lending you more of my chakra than this seal allows you to pull, but I will be granting you an ability of mine. None of my jinchuriki before you have been able to use this ability; they were all far too focused on frontal assaults to even realise the power I could give them."

"Power?"

Kurama sighed. "Only half of my power is sealed within this prison you call a body. But that half possesses a certain ability. With my blessing, your genjutsu will alter the reality of its victims. If they believe themselves to bleed, they will bleed. If they believe themselves to heal, they will heal."

"Excuse me, WHAT?"

"Don't get ahead of yourself, brat. Like all things, this ability has its limitations. I will not make your genjutsu more powerful, and a weak genjustu will be just that; weak. I have no intentions to willingly give you more of my chakra as of yet - I do not trust you quite so much. You are still far too much of a child. Now, begone, before I change my mind and withdraw my blessing."

Dazed by the fact that Kurama actually _agreed_ to lend power to Obito, it took him a few dangerous moments to process that he was back in the world outside his mind, and that he was not alone. His vision still blurry as he adjusted to the transition, Obito could only vaguely make out that there was a figure standing over him. As his sight sharpened, he made out the gentle face of Zabuza's assistant peering at him with a kindly look. Obito's breath caught, but he noticed that there was no malice to be found in this person, and so he relaxed.

"You'll catch a cold if you sleep out here," advised their enemy's underling.

"It's alright, I've only been here..." Obito looked up at the sky. "Less than an hour? Just taking a short rest. I'm Obito. And you are?"

"Haku," the figure responded, gracefully bouncing back to allow Obito space to sit up. "You're a shinobi?"

"I am. Of Konoha, as you can see," Obito pointed at his hitai-ate. "What brings you to these parts, Haku?"

"These forests are known for their medicinal herbs. I am gathering them for my master, who recently sustained an... injury." Haku declared. "He is a callous man, but I think of myself as his son. After all, he has looked after me since I was an orphaned child."

"Haku..." Obito frowned. He knew that there was a kind humanity to this boy, and he wanted to bring it to the fore, hoping to negotiate with this boy who was at present his enemy. "What is Zabuza like outside of his work as a shinobi?"

Suddenly, the world felt like it was turning upside down. Obito looked down, trying his best to remain calm despite the senbon levelled directly at his throat. Haku had closed the gap with such speed that Obito didn't even notice him move. If the boy wanted Obito dead, Obito would be dead. He was still alive, so it was likely that his gambit would pay off.

"Do I look in any way aggressive?" Obito intoned cautiously. "I'm not here to fight you."

Haku glared at Obito, the resolution he'd seen yesterday returning in full to the boy's eyes. "How do you know of my connection to Zabuza?"

"I'll answer your question if you answer mine. Deal?" Obito offered firmly, hoping to create some kind of dialogue. At Haku's nod, he continued. "Zori, last night? Did he mention anything about how he woke up in a supply closet? I thought that was a... tasteful place to leave his body when I was done with it. Now your turn."

"Very well," Haku responded as he stepped away, retracting the threatening senbon from Obito's throat. "Master is... He acts as though he feels nothing, but he's taken me in. He's clothed me, fed me, trained me, and acknowledged me in a way that nobody else ever has. He has made a great many sacrifices in recent years, just to help others who suffer."

"That sounds... I can understand why you care for him. May I ask you another question, Haku?" Obito asked, wanting to gain the boy's trust by giving him the power to control the flow of the conversation.

"We're enemies. Why are you acting so... friendly?" Haku scowled, a mix of confusion and frustration dominating his expression.

"Why didn't you kill us earlier when you had the chance?" Obito shot back, hoping sincerely that Haku would give him something concrete that he could relay to his team to convince them of his plan.

Unfortunately, Haku turned away. "We're done here," the boy announced harshly before grabbing his basket of herbs and taking off. _Tch, damn_ , Obito thought, disappointed that Haku didn't give him some kind of answer. He wasn't sure, but he suspected that Haku preferred not to kill, and he needed hard evidence. Realising that time was escaping him, Obito rushed back to Tazuna's house, hoping that he could get in before the others woke and wondered where he was.

* * *

_Day Six_

Knowing that they only had one day left until Zabuza and Haku would make their move only served to heighten Tazuna's anxiety. Some of the other workers left after seeing how jumpy Tazuna became. Each of them had apologised profusely, explaining that they didn't want to throw away their lives for this bridge. Obito had watched each time as Tazuna somberly dismissed them, reaffirming each deserter that he understood and didn't blame any of them.

Over the past few days, Obito and Tazuna had discussed a range of topics regarding _how_ Wave's economy would be revitalised - what they would buy and sell, how they would encourage foreign workers and traders to come and set up shop, and even ways that Wave could build a further relationship with Konoha. Today, though, there was little by way of conversation - mostly due to the anxiety and anticipation of the inevitable rematch with Zabuza who would almost certainly be accompanied by Haku.

The genin decided to spend a good deal of their last day of peace compulsively checking over the various seals he'd placed across the bridge and the surrounding area, ensuring that they were intact and functional. The majority of the seals were part of a larger barrier network, which could be activated from any one tag in the network by connecting it to a 'key' seal that Obito had in his possession. His plan was to use the barriers to trap people in or out of the bridge as needed, to try and avoid getting caught in Gato's trap.

With time in the day to spare, Obito elected to work on a project that had come to mind earlier. Back when they encountered the Demon Brothers, Obito had realised that relying on his kenjutsu alone for close quarters defense was more than foolish. He had all of this fuinjutsu knowledge staring him in the face and hadn't thought to build seals into his swordsmanship. Rather than focus on building an offensive close-quarters arsenal, Obito needed to be able to create space.

His initial idea seemed rather straightforward - create a seal that would repel an attacker on contact with the wakizashi. However, as with most fuinjutsu, the implementation was particularly complex. Obito knew the seals required to create a repulsion force, but they weren't the problem. The issue was in feeding enough chakra into the seals so they could operate. Since the sword itself didn't conduct chakra, Obito would have to use more seals as chakra transport instead.

After some further thought, Obito arrived at the idea of incorporating chakra battery seals with a maximum capacity, so that the sword didn't break from chakra overflow. Then, he brought chakra to the tip of his forefinger and got to work.

Half an hour later, Obito looked at the wakizashi in his lap and sighed. The seal was functional, but markedly imperfect. His chakra flow circuitry was still imperfect and lossy, which not only made the repulsion force less efficient, it would expose the sword to more wear and tear from the runoff. Hayate-sensei would probably berate him sorely for it, but Obito much preferred being alive. As the sun had begun to set, Tazuna dismissed the _one_ remaining worker with gracious thanks to the woman for being the only one to stay.

* * *

_Day Seven_

Obito knew that the timing was poor; Zabuza and Haku were almost certainly going to strike today. And yet, he also knew that the relationship he was fostering with Kurama was equally as important. The fox did deserve better than being locked away in darkness indefinitely, and perhaps it was the boy's more impulsive side that decided to not let another day go by without upgrading Kurama's living conditions. Besides, it was only right to give Kurama a gift in return for the power he had bestowed upon Obito.

So, knowing full well that he didn't have long before his team was due to escort Tazuna to the bridge, Obito touched a finger to his belly and directed his focus inward. The world around him began to shift, and Obito once again found himself within the increasingly familiar sewers. "Good morning, Kurama!"

The deep red eyes emerged from the darkness, followed by the rest of the fox. "Ugh, what do you want now?"

"Don't you think it's a little bit stuffy in here? An open window would make such a difference!" Obito bantered. "How else are you supposed to eavesdrop on all of your neighbour's juicy gossip?"

Kurama snorted and turned to face away from Obito, as though to suggest that the boy was wasting his time. "Don't test me, brat. What I've given, I can just as easily take away."

Knowing that an explanation of Obito's intent would be met with more irritance and perhaps even ridicule, the boy chose silence. He stepped up towards the tag binding the bars of the Kyuubi's jail shut, inspecting it closely. Though already intimately familiar with the script upon this seal, Obito knew that the smallest of mistakes would cost him everything, and so he had no room for error.

Once Obito had identified the parts of the seal governing what could and could not flow in and out of Kurama's cell - at the moment just limited amounts of chakra - he pricked a finger and began writing with it.

"When I gifted you part of my power, I thought you were a child with real sense who would put it to good use," Kurama scoffed mockingly. "You're sorely mistaken if you think I won't break free of these confines the moment you ruin that hideous lock!"

Ignoring Kurama's remark, Obito continued focusing on his work. The failsafes he had to configure were obscenely complex, given the numerous ways the addition to this seal could be exploited by such a powerful entity as the fox contained within. Once they were in place, Obito could finally incorporate what he had intended - an extra group of symbols that would allow visual and auditory information to be carried into Kurama's cell. Moreso, Kurama would now be able to see what Obito saw and hear what Obito heard, whenever he wanted. "See? Window. When I told you that I don't like keeping you shackled here so tightly, I _actually meant it_. Anyway, I'd best be off now. Toodloo!"

* * *

Noting how the position of the sun had changed, Obito realised he'd taken much longer than he'd hoped. The others were probably already at the bridge - Obito could only hope that he'd make it in time to stop people from needlessly killing one another. A shriek caught Obito's attention, and he sprung into action. Bounding down the stairs, the boy found the source of the shriek. Two armed thugs had broken into the house, and one had taken Tsunami hostage with a sword pointed to her throat.

"You better come quietly, you dumb bitch!" One of the thugs barked. "You wouldn't want anything bad to happen to that precious son of yours, would you?"

The fact that Gato's lackeys were already on the move meant that Obito didn't have time to mess around, so he stepped into view of the thugs, ready to resolve the current hostage situation and get to the bridge as quickly as he could. Obito's entrance didn't go without notice, and the one holding Tsunami lifted his blade towards her throat.

"You want to know something interesting?" Obito stared down the thugs with an expression of smug calm. "As it turns out, I'm the weakest fighter on my team."

The thug holding Tsunami inched his blade closer to her throat, as though to reassure Obito of the current threat. Tsunami let out a muffled scream through the hand covering her mouth, eyes wide in rapidly growing fear. "The fuck are you talking about, brat?"

"I mean, I spent a _whole month_ rigorously training under one of our village's most skilled swordsmen and I'm still hopeless. And yet," Obito's expression gradually shifted into a confident grin. "And yet, I'm still the most dangerous. I mean, you didn't even notice the hand seals I've been performing as I spoke, for one. Besides, you're not going to hurt anyone with that fish you're holding."

The thug looked at the sword in his hand. His wrist jerked, and the sword went flying across the room. Tsunami used the chance to break free, running to the other side of the room. The other thug made a start towards her before tripping and landing on his face.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I must have forgotten to patch that hole in the floor, whoops! Anyway, I've got places to be now. I hope you understand, but I'm going to have to break your arms now." Obito made a polite nod towards the thugs before turning to face Tsunami. As he turned, there were a few loud snapping noises, and the thugs fell unconscious.

The look of horror on Tsunami's face was understandable, but Obito didn't have time to deal with it. Of course she was terrified, having been an attempted hostage victim and then rescued in an _unsettling_ fashion. "Tsunami, I know you're scared, but I need you to hang in there. I'm going to put up a barrier so that nobody can get in and out, and you'll be safe."

Once the barrier was in place, Obito crouched to the ground and fished a kunai from his pouch. After gently pricking the tip of his left thumb, he performed the full sequence of hand seals for the Summoning Technique, and put a good deal more chakra than usual in. There was a puff of smoke, accompanied by several attention-seeking honks. A squadron of four amusingly outfitted geese posed with outstretched wings appeared as the smoke dispersed, before all turning their heads to face their summoner. Each of them wore a different accessory on their heads - from left to right, a straw hat, floral crown, headband and sunglasses.

Obito took a sheet of paper out of his pouch and unfolded it to reveal a map. "I need you four to follow this map to the marked location and _run rampant_." The genin then performed the hand seals for the Transformation technique and morphed into the appearance of Gato, as he had seen the man on the night they arrived. "When you find this man, bring him alive to the big bridge."

Instead of taking the map and leaving, one of the geese honked expectantly at Obito. "I don't have anything for you now, but I'm sure you'll find a variety of valuables that take your fancy at the place I need you to go. Whatever you want there is yours, do we have a deal?"

Straw hat honked and picked up the map with its beak. The geese turned and set off at a run.


	18. Chapter 16 - Turning Tides

**Author’s Notes:** Remember how I said there would be no ships in this fic? Well... there will be one or two later. They won’t dominate the whole plot but I have some cute fluff planned. You’ll have to wait and see who it is though... it won’t happen for another arc or so.

Also thanks to ScribbleGeek for beta’ing this chapter!  
  


**~  
  
**

_ Day 7, Sasuke PoV _

Sasuke woke up to light shining through a window. He blinked, and pushed himself up, finding that he was able to do so with little resistance. Given that they anticipated full-blown combat that morning, Anko had gone easy on them yesterday. And perhaps Sasuke had gone too easy on himself. He was the weakest on the team; he knew it, Anko knew it, and his teammates probably knew it too. People expected greatness from him, being the son of the Hokage and the brother of the great Itachi. Yet he couldn’t land a single solid hit on Hinata once throughout training. 

And Obito? That boy claimed to be some kind of ‘wasted effort’ for training, but Sasuke knew better. Sasuke grew up with Obito, and knew that he always had something up his sleeve; something unexpected, something that at times seemed  _ otherworldly _ . Yes, Sasuke was the weak link, and he wasn’t pushing himself hard enough to catch up. He knew it, and he felt like there was a gap growing with every passing day. He was pretty sure that Hinata and Obito could probably already go up against some chunin and  _ win _ . But Sasuke? People praised him, saying he was a genius like his brother - but that was all just lies. They said that to make him feel better, because they pitied Itachi’s little brother who could barely keep up. 

_ I’m done being the weak link, the recipient of all this pity. I’m gonna train harder than the rest, and I  _ will _ catch up _ , Sasuke promised to himself at a whisper. He could feel the power in saying the words, and yet still he was afraid to be heard. Afraid for those thoughts to exist beyond his own knowledge. He could keep himself accountable, of course, but he wasn’t ready for the pressure that would come with others knowing of his newfound resolution.

After saying the words, though, something felt different. Subtle though it was, Sasuke knew that something had changed. He knew he would succeed - he would get stronger, and he would keep up with his friends. Never again would Sasuke be the weak link who holds his friends back. For now though, Sasuke knew that he had to focus. Focus on the mission at hand, focus on getting back alive. In the training exercises and last night’s planning meeting, they had discussed formation. Sasuke would stay close to Tazuna for the whole day - the last line of defense. A voice inside of him continued to insist that he was chosen as Tazuna’s bodyguard to keep him, the most useless genin, out of the way during the inevitable clash. But this time, Sasuke caught that thought as it happened, and said  _ no _ . He would protect Tazuna, and he would do a  _ damn _ good job of it. 

As he got himself changed into some clean, light-fitting clothes, Sasuke noticed that Obito’s bed was empty. Hinata was still asleep, and Sasuke would leave her to rest a little longer - there was no denying that she was the powerhouse of the team, and so every extra minute of rest she could get improved their chances of success. Latching his gear pouch onto his hip, Sasuke stepped quietly out of the room. As he opened the door, he could feel a mild wave of something  _ corrosive _ wash over his skin. It felt familiar - he’d felt it a few times before since they’d come to Wave, but never like this. Before, it had been incredibly faint, barely on the edge of his consciousness. Now, it was nearby. Was this a chance for Sasuke to prove himself? Slipping into a careful, guarded stance, Sasuke cautiously followed the sensation to find the source. Stepping lightly on his feet, Sasuke walked up a set of stairs and along a corridor, noticing the feeling grow stronger with each step. 

The search led Sasuke to a small spare room. The feeling had grown strong enough that he could feel itches break out across his skin. He saw Anko-sensei’s back protruding from the doorway, motionless. Sasuke upped his pace, skipping across the floorboards until he stood beside his sensei, seeing what she could see. It was Obito; he was sitting cross-legged, a sly grin on his face and his eyes shut. One hand lay peacefully in his lap, the other seeming to  _ claw _ gently into his belly. The boy’s shirt was pushed up by his hand, and below Sasuke could see some kind of pattern on the skin of Obito’s lower abdomen. Sasuke knew that Obito was  _ scarily _ experienced with fuinjutsu, but he’d never seen that seal before. And he wasn’t sure if his eyes were just playing tricks on him, but it looked like bits of the seal were  _ moving _ , ever so slightly. A foreboding feeling washed over him as his mind drew a conclusion about what he was seeing.

“Sensei? Is that... What is he doing?” Sasuke asked quietly, conveying a tone of apprehension. Sasuke was almost entirely sure this had to do with the Kyuubi, but he had to check.

“Idiocy, that’s what,” Anko-sensei scoffed. “This dumbass is fucking with the Kyuubi seal  _ on his own _ , and  _ didn’t warn us _ . When we finish this mission, Jiraiya and that snake bastard are gonna kill me.”

The way Anko-sensei spoke, Sasuke wasn’t sure if she was being serious or not. The twins were training to control their halves of beast, but he knew nothing of what that entailed. What Sasuke did know, however, was that this was obviously dangerous. He didn’t know a huge amount about fuinjutsu, but even a complete novice knew that a seal designed to contain something like the Kyuubi had to be incredibly complex.  _ Modifying _ such a seal? Sasuke shuddered. “I’m not the crazy one here - that  _ is _ stupidly dangerous, right?”

“Yes,” Anko replied, gritting her teeth. “ _ Unfortunately _ , I can’t do anything about it. If we disturb him while he’s working on it, just about anything could go wrong.”

“So, what do we do?” Sasuke asked, worried, clutching at the bottom of his shirt nervously. “Today’s supposed to be  _ the day _ .”

Anko sighed heavily, turning away from her jinchuriki student to face Sasuke. “We get ready to leave. If Obito makes it in time, he’ll come with. Otherwise, we can trust him to find his own way.”

~  
  


_ Construction Site, Hinata’s PoV _

As they arrived at the bridge, Hinata felt a cold bite in the air; it was unlike the forest they had spent a week training in. Hinata remembered learning once that oceans kept the air cold, so of course the bridge above the ocean would feel so chilly. A light mist hung over the area, reducing visibility even for trained shinobi. Though she possessed the Byakugan, Hinata wouldn’t be able to see more than about thirty metres with it, and so the reduced visibility concerned her. 

As was planned before they arrived, Hinata directed a steady flow of chakra to her eyes in order to activate her doujutsu, and observed the area around them. Aside from them and Tazuna, there were no other workers. The area was scattered with steel beams, boxes of tools, crates with various supplies and tarps. Notably, concealed under many of these objects was an organised array of paper tags thrumming gently with chakra. There was no flow yet between the array, but Hinata could see that it was organised into some kind of pattern - even if she didn’t understand the pattern itself. 

She thought of Obito, wondering what would possibly make him do... whatever he was doing, instead of prioritising the mission. If she had made some choice that  _ knowingly _ disadvantaged her mission - because Obito wouldn’t do something without thinking it through - and her father heard of it... no. 

Hinata took a steady breath in, held it, and released it. She mentally acknowledged that her thoughts had brought themselves back once again to the pressures her father placed on her. She wanted to berate herself for being a burden bound by her own ‘baggage’, as Ibiki-sensei called it, but tried her best not to. Then, just like Ibiki-sensei had taught her, she brought her thoughts back to her environment, observing what she could sense around her. Ibiki-sensei had explained that good shinobi don’t have time to process their insecurities in the field, and it helped to ground themselves in the world around them as a means of clearing their mind and staying centred on the mission all at once. As usual, he was right. 

Through her Byakugan, Hinata continued to observe the area surrounding the bridge. There was no sign of anyone other than herself, Sasuke, Anko-sensei, and Tazuna. No sign of any traps other than Obito’s seals. Hinata thought to check the water below, and confirmed that nobody was there either. All was clear. 

For a good few seconds, that remained true. Hinata was able to track something moving rapidly into her field of view. In a single moment, she swerved her body and extended her arm. Now in front of Tazuna, Hinata flicked her wrist at the incoming,  _ whistling _ projectile, batting a senbon out of the air with precision common to most Hyuuga. 

Two figures approached from the forested path beyond the bridge at a measured walk. They both stepped with casual, relaxed gaits, as though the senbon was merely to announce their presence. Anko-sensei stepped forward, positioning herself at the front of the group as the attackers stepped onto the bridge. Hinata stood firm, watching Sasuke pull at Tazuna’s sleeve, leading the bridge-builder to back away with him. 

Hinata watched, and waited. After all, that was what Hyuuga did. And when the time was right, they struck with precision above all things. Brute power was unnecessary, hotheadedness a setback. So, she watched. And she waited. Then, when the time was right, she would strike.  
  


~  
  


_ Construction Site, Obito’s PoV _

Obito hoped dearly that he wasn’t too late. His decision to modify Kurama’s seal now of all times was reckless, sure, but he didn’t expect it to take as long as it did. He’d studied the seal in great depth - he wouldn’t have dared to mess with it if he didn’t know exactly what he was doing. He still didn’t understand all of it, only enough to know what needed changing and what was safe to modify. 

Now that he was done, all he could do was move as fast as he could, and pray that his team and the Kirigakure shinobi wouldn’t all tear each other to bits by the time he arrived. Drawing closer to the bridge, Obito could hear the telltale sounds of metal striking metal - the rhythm was irregular, indicating combat rather than construction. If only he’d mastered the use of the Body Flicker technique for travel, he could have gotten there a little bit faster.

Once he reached the outer layer of his barrier seal network, Obito was close enough to hear more of what was going on. There were sounds of clashing that came from two sources near one another, but nothing else within earshot. If any of Gato’s hirelings had come, they would have been noisy. Thus, Obito concluded that it still made sense to engage his barrier. Zabuza and Haku would be kept from escaping, and any stragglers from Gato’s employ would be kept out. Though he could make out the figures of his team and their current foes, and felt a sense of urgency to reach them, he knew it would be all for naught without the precautions he had taken pains over the last week to set up.

Hefting a large crate revealed a single paper tag laid on stone, decorated by a series of empty circles. One circle, indicating this particular tag’s position amongst the array, was filled in with black ink. In the centre of the tag was a kanji symbol for “barrier”, below which was an Uzu script symbol representing a “lock”. Obito knelt down by the seal, and retrieved a somewhat similar-looking tag out of his pouch. This one had a similar array of circles, except each was connected by a series of delicately drawn lines. Instead of a symbol for a “lock”, this tag had a symbol for a “key”.

Pressing the two together resulted in the slow formation of a large, shimmering blue wall. The wall was scarcely wider than the bridge itself, forming along the edge where the bridge met the cliff face it was constructed off. While the wall began to extend in different directions that would eventually form a rectangular prism enclosing the bridge from all directions, Obito rushed towards the ceaseless sounds of combat. After all, there was no time to waste. 

The closest people to him were Sasuke and Tazuna. Sasuke was tense, a kunai gripped in his left hand and his right hand faintly glowing with chakra. Tazuna stood behind him, only a few paces away, a skittish expression on his face. Past him was a dome made up of many panels of what appeared to be ice, with gaps between each panel. Obito was hardly given a chance to approach Sasuke, as the kunai from the Uchiha’s hand hurtled towards him without warning. He swerved to the side as quickly as he could, narrowly avoiding impalement before raising his hands in a pacifying gesture.

“Shit, Obito, Sorry!” Sasuke exclaimed with panicked intonation. “But where have you been?”

“I’ll explain later,” Obito promised. “But right now I need to stop the fighting.”

“Stop the fighting?” Sasuke asked, but received no response. Obito had already moved on, leaving him to his post of protecting Tazuna.

Obito moved closer to the dome of ice, spotting Hinata within. She had many small cuts along her body, which explained the countless senbon scattered across the ground. Her stance was defensive, and she was panting heavily. She was surely aware of Obito’s arrival - he could see the clearly pronounced veins around her eyes - though she did not respond in any way to his presence. 

Obito thought quickly, trying to determine the best course of action. Past the dome of ice, he could see Anko clashing with Zabuza, and she did not seem to be faring well. Since Hinata seemed to be holding up reasonably well, even despite her fatigue, Obito decided to first try and de-escalate Anko’s fight, and so he made to advance past the ice dome. As he moved, the intensity of Hinata’s defensive movements picked up, and she began advancing towards the side of the dome he was passing. Registering that she was putting pressure on Haku so he couldn’t threaten Obito, he moved quickly.

The battle between the two adult shinobi revealed itself in full, no longer obscured by the dome of ice. Anko wielded what appeared to be a single tanto shrouded in dancing flames. She was on the defensive, managing only to fend off the heavy blows of Zabuza and his giant blade. Their movements were fast, and Obito had to find a way to capture their attention without endangering himself or Anko. The best thing he could come up with under the time pressure was to grab a pair of twin barrier seals, slap them around a kunai each and hurl them both in between the two shinobi. As he’d hoped, rather than batting away the kunai, which would have likely landed them too far from one another to work, both shinobi dodged backwards. A small barrier erected itself between the shinobi, and they turned to face the one who had intruded upon their fight. 

“Obito, what are you...” Anko began, her shocked expression morphing into anger, before being interrupted by her foe. 

“Does your kid have a death wish?” Zabuza growled. He looked ready to keep on fighting, so Obito knew he had to assert himself more, and quickly.

“Momochi Zabuza, you  _ want _ to listen to me. Trust me, you do,” Obito spoke as firmly as he could, hoping to the powers that be that this would work. The enemy shinobi stopped.

“Oh?” Zabuza scoffed. “Do I now?”

“Yes, you do. Let me cut to the chase. Pretty soon, some friends of mine will arrive, and Gato will be their prisoner. His empire will have crumbled; his treasures? Yours for the taking.” Obito spoke plainly. There would be no tricks, nothing that could be perceived as deception or mockery. That would be too dangerous.

“Is that so?” Zabuza responded, appearing intrigued, though more as though he’d just heard a mildly entertaining joke.

“You don’t see any incentive to trust me now, but you’re the type to believe in strength, aren’t you? I propose a deal. Allow me to fight your disciple one on one. If I win, will you listen to what I have to say?” Obito challenged, still keeping his tone steady, and his body language as neutral as he could.  
  


~  
  


_ Gato’s HQ, Zori’s PoV _

Zori had nothing but anger coursing through him. That one night a week ago, he was hardly even tipsy, and yet it all went wrong. This beautiful young woman had seduced him and done something to his mind, but he didn’t know what. One minute he was following her through to a more private location, and the next thing he knew he was in a supply closet. It was embarrassing enough that everyone saw him stumble out of that closet the next morning. Everything seemed to settle to normal after that, barring a few mocking jabs from some dumbasses who soon learned their place. 

Except, a few days later, something changed. Zabuza’s little assistant started glaring daggers at Zori at almost every given opportunity.  _ What’s that bitch-boy’s problem, anyway? _ Zori had wondered the first time it happened. But once the boy made it clear he had something personally against Zori, the man just tried to avoid the kid. After all, last time someone tried to pick a fight with Haku, they ended up with several broken ribs in less than a  _ second _ . 

For the first time since then, Haku had left, with Zabuza. Zori let out a sigh of relief after they’d left, finally able to walk around without feeling endangered. It wasn’t long after that before he’d been instructed to arm himself for battle. This was on a far bigger scale than usual - normally, a few people here and there would head out to intimidate the locals and make them pay ‘protection fees’. This time,  _ everyone _ was being called up. Zori wasn’t very clever, and he knew it, b. But even he could figure out what it meant when this instruction was sent out  _ after _ those two shinobi had left. Gato didn’t want to pay the shinobi - which worked well to Zori’s tastes. Those two rubbed him the wrong way, and he  _ especially _ looked forward to sticking cold steel into Haku’s guts. 

While Zori was sharpening his prized katana, which he’d ‘liberated’ from his sorry excuse for a father many years ago, he heard something odd. A faint noise, hard to make sense of at first. It got a little bit louder, which allowed Zori to realise it was coming from outside the open window of the room he was in. As he made his way over to the window to see what was causing this strange sound, he both saw and heard it.

_ Honk. _

Four strange white birds, running in  _ formation _ directly towards the building.

_ Honk. _

“Hats?” Zori asked aloud, not even realising he’d spoken the word, wondering with bemusement as to who would dress these birds with their assortment of headwear. He felt a sinking feeling in his stomach, one which he couldn’t explain. He dismissed it. They were just some dumb birds. If they were stupid enough to get too close, whoever was on guard duty at the entrance could just punt them away. No big deal.

_ Honk. _

Zori returned to his maintenance work, beginning to wipe down his blade before sheathing it and strapping it to his waist. There was quiet, for a moment. Then, confused shouting that seemed to come from the guards at the entrance.

“What the heck?” One of the guards called out. “Get back, you stupid birds!”

Blade now securely strapped to his waist, Zori returned to the window.  _ This should be fun to watch, at least _ . What he saw was certainly not anything he ever expected to witness in his lifetime. One of the birds - the one wearing sunglasses - was leaning its head back over its body. And then, the head swung forward, the bird releasing a loud, sustained noise.

_ Hoooooooooooooonk. _

At the same time, another bird - one wearing some kind of cloth headband - lunged towards one of the two guards at the entrance. Zori smirked. He wasn’t sure what these birds were doing, but this would be over quickly. The guard being approached swung his leg predictably towards the bird. Zori was shocked to see the kick miss... completely. It seemed to be just about to connect with the bird’s body, but in that last moment the bird seemed to disappear. 

Zori could swear he saw a small puff of smoke when the bird vanished, and it then reappeared behind the guard... gripping a steel club by the handle with its beak? The bird swung with  _ impossible _ speed, the club connecting with the guard’s hips, making a sickening crunch as the guard was knocked flying. The bird turned to the other guard, spreading its wings out wide as though to taunt the man, or perhaps assert its dominance.

_ Honk _ .

The remaining guard seemed unsurprisingly angry, and swung a shortsword at the bird. The sword sliced through air where the bird had been, and then the man’s body was soaring through the air just like the one before him, landing a good few meters away.

_ Honk. Honk. Honk! _

The birds seemed to be communicating with one another, and then they all ran into the now unguarded building. Zori could hear the screaming, the confusion, the  _ chaos _ from down the halls. He knew he was supposed to go and help, but every fibre of his being told him that he  _ should not  _ mess with those... _ monsters. _ There was only one entrance to the building - escape probably wasn’t an option. All he could do was hide. Hide, and pray that they would leave him alone.

The sounds Zori heard for the next few minutes were terrible. Screams and honks filled the air, occasionally accompanied by the percussive noises of things breaking and shattering. It was only a few minutes - in those few minutes, the sounds of pure carnage moved around the building. Then, all that was left were those horrible  _ honks _ . Zori was curled into a ball in the corner of his room, hiding like he hadn’t since he was a small child afraid of monsters in the night, when the door was knocked off its hinges. 

He looked at the bird, fear painted all across his face. The sweet little flower crown on the bird’s head fooled nobody - especially not with that horrible black dagger gripped in its beak. Zori stayed completely frozen. Silently he was hoping,  _ begging _ that it would just move on. That it would let him live another day. For an awful moment, Zori met the monster’s eyes. Those eyes held no anger, no aggression. They held  _ joy _ . Whether he would live or die depended entirely on the whims of this feathered fiend. Zori closed his eyes, waiting for his dreaded end. Seconds went by, and then minutes. He opened his eyes and looked around. He was still alive, and the bird was gone. An awful silence filled the air - a silence that betrayed nothing. Were they still here? Zori knew not.

Finally, he drew up the courage, or perhaps stupidity, to go and see what remained of his employer’s empire. Stepping out of his shared quarters, what Zori saw was not the headquarters of an organised crime boss. What he saw was ruins. Ruins that could be likened to the aftermath of war. It reminded him of when he was a child, and those damn shinobi were fighting amongst themselves. Most of the time, they had left non-shinobi alone. But on occasion, they passed through towns, leaving carnage in their wake. Zori’s home had been one of them. What he saw now was no different to what he’d seen during that stupid war. 

Chunks of the walls had been broken away, decorating the floors as rubble. Weapon stands knocked to the ground, contents scattered everywhere. Bodies were littered throughout, bloodied, broken and battered. What Zori saw around him didn’t even  _ remotely _ resemble the building he’d been in not even an hour ago. So, he ran. Without looking back, Zori ran. Out of the building, and away. Just... away. He would hide somewhere else on this  _ cursed _ island, seeking passage to the mainland as soon as he could.  
  


~   
  


Zabuza laughed. It was a long, hearty laugh - as though the man hadn’t heard a joke so funny in  _ years _ . Anko was giving Obito a  _ look _ . A look filled with anger, concern and apprehension. But not disbelief - no, Anko had already come to know not to put anything past the child who had so obviously inherited his mother’s brand of crazy. Obito looked back at her, and then away. He wasn’t sure what to say, how to respond. So, he turned back to face Zabuza. The muscular swordsman looked Obito in the eyes, and it took everything the genin had not to cower; the man’s glare was so incredibly intense. 

“You’re an interesting kid, you know? You’ve got a bigger pair than most people I know. Out of respect for that, you have a deal. Haku?” Zabuza called out to his companion, and the sounds of senbon striking stone halted. “Let the girl go! Kid, if you manage to defeat Haku, I’ll hear you out. You should know, though, that my boy Haku is my greatest tool - more powerful than even my famed Kubikiribocho. Are you sure you don’t want to back out? I might even be willing to let you four leave... in exchange for the old man.”

Obito looked over to the dome, giving Hinata a confident thumbs up before signalling her to move to safety. She stepped out, sending Obito an understandably concerned look, before moving to Sasuke’s side. Haku’s menacing form protruded from one of the panels of ice, his masked face looking directly at Obito. There was something incredibly unnerving about that mask. Obito had already encountered Haku twice - once when infiltrating Gato’s headquarters, and once while out in the forest. The boy’s motives were clear - he didn’t seem to  _ want _ to hurt people, but he was unwaveringly loyal to Zabuza. Obito shuddered, but looked resolutely back to Zabuza.

“I would ask you the same question if it wouldn’t be more of an insult than a kindness,” Obito replied, earning a smirk from the imposing man. “No, I won’t back out.”

The simultaneously terrified and confident jinchuriki turned to walk willingly into Haku’s dome of ice. His opponent greeted him with a small, polite bow of his head, reflected across each and every one of the panels of ice. “So, we meet again.” 

“It’s funny, you know?” Obito smirked, now allowing his face to relax just a bit. “Both of my teammates are far stronger than me, and my skill set is hardly designed for a one on one fight.”

After a moment of tense silence, Haku responded. “You are clearly confident that you will be able to defeat me. Though perhaps that confidence is misplaced, for I can tell you have little  _ real _ experience. The way you walk and talk is still soft, unweathered. I do not wish to kill you, but you know I will. Perhaps, if we had met under different circumstances, we could have been... friends. Brace yourself.”

Almost immediately after Haku finished speaking, a senbon tore through the air towards Obito, who threw his body to one side in order to dodge. He had seen what Hinata had been defending against, he knew this was nothing compared to what Haku could do. While still in motion, Obito rushed his hands into the Snake seal, and then moved to Tiger, the last two parts of the Clone technique. With a puff of smoke, the dome was populated with many visibly indistinguishable copies of Obito. It would hardly buy him any time, Obito suspected that his opponent could tear through them all in moments. But it was enough time for the genin to reach into a side pocket of his pouch and draw his small cylindrical whistle to his lips and blow. 

In that same time, a swarm of senbon cut through the entire army of bunshin, causing each to blur and dispel. One senbon slashed past Obito’s left shoulder, leaving a thin trail of blood. Another dug into his thigh painfully. Obito winced, but didn’t let it disrupt his focus. He blew into the whistle, producing sound at a frequency higher than humans could hear. His chakra flowed through the whistle, using this inaudible sound as a means of travelling through the air, infiltrating Haku’s brain through his ears. 

The moment it took for Haku to realise that he was being affected by a genjutsu was a moment too long. In the mirrored dome, each of Haku’s reflections brought their hands into the Release seal to dispel a genjutsu. He shouted “Release”, and then stood still. Obito couldn’t see Haku’s face under the mask, but expected that it concealed a look of shock. He smirked as Haku brought his hands into the Release seal again. And again. And again. With each attempt, Haku’s movements grew more sluggish, more unbalanced. 

“Wha...?” Haku tried to say, his voice slurring messily. Then, he tried to throw a senbon. Out of each panel of ice emerged the form of a metal needle, seeming to be thrown at Obito. They all missed. “Whaa haf you..?” 

Obito released his lips from the whistle and allowed the flow of his chakra to cease - his efforts had been sufficient. “I wouldn’t suggest trying to fight me now, you’ll probably just hurt yourself. Oh, and I’m so sorry about the hangover, it’s going to be pretty rough. But hey, if by some chance we’re not enemies at the end of the day, I can get rid of it for you!”

“Wha’re you talkin ‘bout? I’cn deal wiv ya!” Haku spluttered. He then tried to emerge from the ice. Presumably, he was trying to leap at Obito. Unfortunately for Zabuza’s disciple, he just fell on his face. Haku tried to push himself up a few times, unsuccessfully, and Obito remembered to breathe. He had known full well that if he’d messed that up, Haku could have killed him with ease. 

Obito twisted and looked at his thigh, wincing as he pulled the senbon out of his leg. He dropped it, and pressed a hand infused with healing chakra to the wound, closing it over. Reminding himself that this wasn’t over yet, Obito exited the dome and turned his attention back to Zabuza, the latter of whom wore a look of gratifying surprise.

“Well?” Obito called out expectantly. As he walked towards the swordsman, he stowed away the whistle in his pouch. He turned to look at Anko, wondering how she was taking this. He’d ignored orders from a superior and acted with great insubordination. If Anko chose, Obito would get his ass handed to him later. 

Anko actually seemed rather impressed, flashing a toothy grin at Obito. He was almost surprised that she wasn’t still angered, but after all this was  _ Anko _ . “Alright kid, the floor is all yours. After that little show, you’ve earned it!” Obito grinned back at Anko, truly appreciating that he had a sensei who rewarded clever plans when they worked out. 

He then noticed the look Zabuza was giving him. It was one that was unexpected given how the man had conducted himself thus far, and yet felt fitting on his face. It was one of concern, albeit restrained.  _ So he  _ does  _ care about Haku. Heh. _

“Don’t worry, he’s fine. Haku’s a good guy, I don’t want to hurt him; but he’s going to have a hell of a hangover.” Obito said, having to remind himself to keep his tone neutral. He wanted to break into a cheeky grin of smug victory, but he also liked  _ being alive _ .

Zabuza struck his blade into the ground with enough force to wedge it into the stone, and let go. He then stepped forward, approaching Obito. At first, Obito thought that the act of releasing his blade was one that signalled peaceful intent. When Zabuza began to approach him, Obito felt a wave of apprehension and prepared to act on the first sign of real aggression.

When Zabuza held his hand out to shake, Obito relaxed again, before gripping the man’s hand firmly with his own.

“So, kid, what is it that I want to hear you say?” Zabuza asked, sounding almost  _ impressed _ . 

Since this had all happened so quickly, Obito expected that his summons wouldn’t be done yet with their task, though they may arrive soon. Until they returned with the evidence he needed, Obito would have to rely on his words alone. “First, let’s talk about how you and Haku aren’t the amoral killers you pretend to be.”

Zabuza’s eyebrows rose in some form of surprise. “A rather naive claim.”

“No, not really,” Obito asserted, now allowing himself to smirk confidently. “You see, one of the things I’m very good at is noticing things and connecting dots. You can deny it all you want in an attempt to maintain your callous tough guy act, but it doesn’t really benefit you here. Why don’t we start with the day you  _ pretended _ to try and kill us.

“You ambushed us on the road, and from the very first moment you made no use of the many opportunities you had to kill each and every one of us. When you threw your blade at us, you had the element of surprise. Our sensei, Anko, was skilled enough to see it coming, but given your reputation, you could have combined your Silent Killing with that element of surprise to complete your mission there and then. You didn’t.

“Then, when that turned into direct combat, Haku was obviously nearby, but did not join in. It is already clear that he doesn’t like to kill, but he’s also entirely loyal to you. That means you ordered him to stand by. You then had the clear upper hand on our sensei in a situation where we were powerless to help. Instead of continuing to fight, winning and moving on to kill us and Tazuna, Haku pretended to kill you as a Hunter shinobi. Yet another thing he would not do unless it was in line with your instructions. Which means you willfully chose not to kill us.

“And that’s only the start. That same evening, I paid your employer’s headquarters a visit, in the form of one of his lackeys. Gato thought I was one of his, and ordered me to deliver a message to you and Haku, confirming that you were alive and did in fact have an accomplice. When I encountered Haku, I saw that he was very clearly protective of you, and hostile towards Gato’s people. That suggests you don’t have the smoothest relationship with him - the likelihood that your loyalty was either because he had something on you or was paying for your services was already high.

“It gets better. On my way out, I happened to overhear something interesting - Gato had no intention of paying you out. If all had gone according to his plan, most of his armed forces would be waiting near the bridge to ambush you and Haku once you’d been tired out from killing us. That plan, however, is being thwarted as we speak.”

“So,” Zabuza interjected. “You thought that you could inform us of Gato’s intent to betray us and get us to stand down?”

“Yes, I did,” Obito nodded. “I happened to encounter your disciple, Haku, a few days ago in the forest - he was gathering medicinal herbs. Probably for you. I suppose I should start with the fact that he found me, and I was unconscious. Meaning he had an easy opportunity to kill me or take me hostage, but didn’t.”

Anko seemed caught off guard by this, if the sudden coughing fit was anything to go by.

“Instead,” Obito continued, “we spoke. I revealed that I knew of his identity from my night of infiltration. He actually spoke quite fondly of you - said that you’re like a father to him. I asked Haku why you didn’t kill us, and he refused to answer. Of course, that in itself was an answer. I suspect that Haku didn’t want to betray or ruin your reputation. 

“So, that brings us to why this confrontation won’t end with us at each other’s throats. I’m led to believe that you don’t want to kill, but you will when you have to. You have some kind of goal, and you probably need money, which I’ll bet is why you’re here working for Gato to begin with. That man doesn’t seem clever enough to hold something against you - at least not something significant enough to restrain someone as powerful as you. But now, you don’t need to serve Gato anymore.”

“Kid, you might be impressively clever,” Zabuza began to respond. “But you’re naive as fuck - you don’t know shit about the world. If you did, you wouldn’t be trying to make a truce, because you’d know that even - no, especially if you’ve taken down Gato, I’m going to have to kill you anyway.”

“While I am undeniably more inexperienced than I’d like, I’ve also thought of that,” Obito chuckled. He was too proud of his foresight here to  _ not _ express it. “According to your reputation, you’re a mercenary, no longer supported by the backing of a Hidden Village. So, why do you still wear the hitai-ate of Kirigakure? Certainly, some rogue shinobi continue to wear the symbols of their old homes - but they usually deface it in some way, which you have neglected to do. If you’ve been denounced by your village, wearing that hitai-ate serves you no functional purpose. Sentimental value, perhaps? Or is there more to it then that?”

Zabuza’s eyes thinned, and he tensed up. “Kid-”

“Relax,” Obito cut over Zabuza’s attempt to interject. “I swear on what honor I do have, despite being a shinobi, that none of us inside this barrier will spread word of your true purpose. Well, I’m roughly 90% sure that it’s your true purpose. I could be totally wrong, but hey, certainty is for people who aren’t shinobi.

“So, as I was saying. You’re still attached to your village. You live off your reputation, which is why you’d need to go out of your way to keep it intact, and you’re doing work that you and Haku are less fond of in order to make money. Ergo, I’m rather confident that you’re part of a rebellion of some kind in Kirigakure.”

“I have to say,” Anko cut in, visibly  _ fighting _ to not burst into laughter. “The logic actually does check out. Not certain, but there doesn’t seem to be any more likely explanation. As much as I detest that snake bastard, he certainly trained your mind well. But you have more to say, don’t you?”

“Just one more thing,” Obito confirmed. “Because ultimately, there’s still one missing piece of the puzzle needed to prevent Zabuza from having no choice but to kill us anyway. Zabuza, you live on your reputation. So what happens if word gets out that you failed a job, or failed to protect your employer? Who would want to hire a shinobi that gets outmanoeuvred by a team of  _ genin _ from the oh so friendly Leaf Village?”

Zabuza had pulled down the mask covering his mouth and nose, and was staring with his mouth ajar in a rather undignified manner, which was rather entertaining considering his usual demeanor. 

“The only sensible choice you’d have to preserve your reputation if your employer had been slain by enemy shinobi would be to avenge that employer. At least then people would see that you have strength and integrity still. But what if something  _ so absurd _ happened to your employer that it couldn’t possibly be pinned to enemy shinobi? What if it’s so clear that the fault for failure is on Gato, because honestly how the fuck did he let  _ that _ happen to him?”

At this point, Obito’s grin was getting a bit too wide. “What I’m trying to say is that I’ve done my best to ensure that your reputation is as unsullied as possible. You have no reason to follow through with your mission.”

Eventually, Zabuza spoke. “I won’t deny that I’m impressed. But still, I have no reason to trust what you have to say. If you have proof that I’m not bound to Gato’s loyalty anymore, I’m willing to partake in this truce. You took down my kid Haku, and nobody’s done that before. So, mister prodigy, what would you have us do now?”

Obito’s smirk returned to his face. “Actually, this is perfect timing. My feathery friends have arrived!”

“Feathery friends?” Sasuke asked cautiously. Obito hadn’t even noticed his teammates and Tazuna approach to listen in to his long monologue - a clear mark of his naivete. Even if he was safe, he shouldn’t have let his guard down  _ that _ much.

In response, Obito went around to peel away a few of the tags from his barrier array, which resulted in just the one side of the barrier fading away. As the barrier faded, a squadron of four geese waddled in gracelessly, dragging a man’s unconscious body with them. They brought the body towards Zabuza, let go, honked, and disappeared in a puff of smoke.

“See? Proof!” Obito chuckled.

Zabuza looked at the dishevelled form of his former employer, Gato, and then back to Obito. He seemed conflicted.

“Look, it’s rather simple. Gato’s home base was overrun by  _ geese _ . Even if there are accusations against us or against you about who caused it, or who let it happen, people will be far too busy laughing at the absurdity of it to  _ care _ whether or not you failed to perform as a reliable mercenary. Besides, in the off chance that your reputation is affected, I’ve thought of that too," Obito said with a smirk. "I think you should forge an alliance with Konoha.”


	19. Chapter 17 - Calming Waves

**AN:** A big thanks to Karamidori for tearing this chapter to shreds for me so I could build it back up better!

* * *

“I think you should form an alliance with Konoha,” Obito asserted without a shred of hesitation.

“What?” came the chorus of every voice around, almost entirely in sync. The reactions were quite mixed; Sasuke dropped his kunai. Hinata just stared in confusion. Anko  _ smiled _ . Haku was wiggling on the ground in an entirely undignified manner. Zabuza raised a single eyebrow.

“An... Alliance. With Konoha?” Zabuza echoed Obito’s words. He turned to look at Anko. “Are you on board with this?”

Anko returned Zabuza’s quizzical look with one of amusement. “Depends on what terms the kid has in mind, but potentially... yes.”

“Look,” Obito added. “This isn’t the place for such a discussion, so we should continue this elsewhere, at another time. What I will say before we wrap this up is that I’m  _ confident _ that the Hokage will be on board with my plan. Anko-sensei, could you suggest a suitable time and place to reconvene?”

Anko had produced a sheet of sandpaper and begun buffing her fingernails. “Oh, why don’t we meet tomorrow evening at Tazuna’s home?”

“WHAT?” Tazuna barked out, affronted by his home being offered as a meeting place to a man who was, not long ago, trying to kill him. 

Zabuza smirked, a more mischievous streak beginning to show through. “I’ll tell you what. I’m going to go and see what state my ex-employer’s base of operations is in. If I’m still interested tomorrow evening, I’ll be there. If not, pray you never see me again, because I’ll be the last thing you see.”

In the next moment, Zabuza flickered over to Haku, who was now rolling around on the ground. Then, they vanished in a swirl of mist. Once the mist faded, the bridge simply felt empty. For a while, nobody spoke, and the silence made it feel as though almost everything was frozen in time. Almost everything, with the exception of the waves that crashed on the cliffs below in a messily inconsistent rhythm. 

“So, how exactly do you plan to win over the Demon of the Mist?” Anko asked, breaking the silence, before letting out a frighteningly loud cackle.  
  


~  
  


Since there were no other workers around, Tazuna and his bodyguards decided to return to his home for the day. There was something different about returning to the shabby house after the ‘big fight’. It felt  _ emptier _ . 

They expected that people would return to work in a few days, once they began to hear and then  _ trust _ the news that Gato was gone. The team of Konoha shinobi opted to treat their wounds first. Then, they would debrief on the encounter with Zabuza and Haku, and whatever it was that Obito had just pulled off.

Hinata had the worst of the injuries, though she had already begun to tend to them on the way back. There were several puncture wounds alongside many more thin lacerations. Individually, they would have been harmless. Unfortunately, the sheer number of lacerations threatened considerable blood loss; Hinata’s body would need more than just field dressings to recover from them all. Fortunately, two of the four shinobi were medics-in-training. Hinata had managed to pull out some of the senbon, but there were several still piercing into her which had to be removed more carefully. Though Hinata was too fatigued to muster up any healing chakra, chakra was something that Obito rarely seemed to run out of. He got to work healing the worst of the open wounds, while Sasuke applied Hinata’s salve to the rest. Once that was done, they worked to carefully remove the remaining senbon and heal over the pinholes they left. 

Once they were done, the two boys left their friend to rest and stepped outside of Tazuna’s home to find Anko sitting on a log nearby. She was busy bandaging over her own injuries. Obito offered to heal them up as much as he could, but Anko declined. “You might be a host to the fox, but your chakra supply isn’t infinite. You’ve done what you can for Hinata, my wounds will close up on their own. Go and get some rest. We’ll talk things over this evening.”

They both started to walk back towards the house, but Anko called out again. “Not you, Sasuke.” She waggled an expectant finger at him, and he obediently returned to her side. 

  
~  
  


Anko looked the Uchiha boy up and down. He was uninjured and unfatigued, but failing miserably to hide the weight he felt on his shoulders. The damn kid played his part  _ perfectly _ , and he still couldn’t stop beating himself apart. 

“Sasuke, tell me what you think of your performance today,” Anko ordered, albeit with a casual tone.

Sasuke tensed visibly before speaking. “I was... I was useless, but I’ll do better. I knew there wasn’t much I could do today, but I swear I’ll work harder... I’ll train harder and get stronger, and I’ll stop being so damn useless!”

Anko laughed. She laughed heartily, and let herself keep going  _ just _ long enough that Sasuke might start to worry about her sanity. It was far more fun that way, at least. “Useless? Oh, please. That’s the stupidest thing I’ve heard all day! Loosen up, kiddo. You did exactly what we needed from you today. You were the last line of defense for Tazuna, and you did well keeping him out of the way.

“Let’s cut the crap entirely. You wouldn’t have fared nearly as well against Zabuza’s kid as Hinata did. But by being a dedicated guard to Tazuna, Hinata was able to keep her fighting with that boy away from the two of you, ensuring Tazuna’s safety for as long as I could keep Zabuza at bay. If you had tried to help Hinata, Tazuna would be dead. If you hadn’t kept your guard up so well, Tazuna would be dead. Let yourself have a victory every now and then, okay?”

Sasuke looked Anko in the eyes, and Anko looked right back at him. She could tell from all of the micro signals he was giving off that he was  _ actually trying _ to trust what she said, but he wasn’t quite there yet. It would do, for now. She’d been through the kind of self-doubt that Sasuke was still working on, and prided herself on how well she’d gotten past it in recent years. But she also knew that it took time. 

“I’ll tell you what,” Anko continued, holding eye contact with her student. “When we get back to Konoha, the two of us are going to do a week of intensive training. It will be nothing like training you’ve done with me before. This will be  _ pure hell _ , but if you can make it through, you’ll be a fair deal stronger. How does that sound?”

“Thank you, sensei! I will give it my all!” Sasuke promised with a confidence that reassured Anko that she was, in fact, training her students well.   
  


~  
  


Hinata woke just as the sun was beginning to set. Shades of orange and pink peeked through the window, giving the fairly plain room a splash of color. She looked down, seeing an abundance of bandages stained with the green of her salve and the red of her blood covering her body. She was still sore, and it stung when she moved, but it was nowhere near as painful as before she allowed herself to pass out. Hinata gently eased herself up, and slowly walked out towards the voices of her teammates. Though she shouldn’t be moving about, Hinata could at least go and sit near them to participate in conversation.

When she opened the door to the room where they were meeting, the conversation halted. Her teammates all turned to look at her with concerned expressions. Hinata gingerly crossed the threshold between rooms, limped towards the table they were sitting around, and lowered her body to the ground. Resting her back against a wall allowed her to sit up and remain focused; it would also be impolite to lie down whilst conversing with her team. 

“Are you... alright?” Obito asked softly, as though speaking too loudly would reopen her wounds. 

“I’m... well enough to focus on the debriefing. What have I missed?” Hinata allowed herself to close her eyes - that way she could dedicate more of her energy to listening to the others. A small voice in the back of her mind insisted that such indecency would bring shame upon her clan, but she ignored it as best she could. 

“Not much,” Anko responded. “We were just beginning to discuss what we know of Kiri’s current political climate; those fuckers get up to some crazy shit, which will be relevant to our upcoming negotiations. As much as I love throwing you kids into the river to see if you’ll sink or swim, I’ll do the talking this time. You’re all genin, and the Hokage would have me drawn and quartered if I let you speak on behalf of Konoha here. That said, you kids get up to some crazy stuff so I wanna hear your suggestions on how we approach this. What do we know so far, Sasuke?”

Sasuke looked up thoughtfully. “We were just talking about what Kirigakure is known to have been like in recent years; They’ve been nicknamed the ‘Village of the Bloody Mist’ - do you remember what Ebisu-sensei taught us about them?”

Hinata nodded. “Their academy once forced people to fight to the death in order to graduate. We also talked about rumors of how ever since the Fourth Mizukage took over, some of the Seven Swordsmen turned rogue...” Hinata trailed off in realisation. “So... Zabuza really is..?”

Anko nodded, pulling a small book out of her nearby pouch. She flipped through it quickly until she landed on the page she seemed to be looking for. “Did Closet Perv ever show you one of these?”

All three of the genin shook their heads, Obito stifling a chuckle at their well-respected Academy teacher being referred to by Anko-sensei’s brash nickname for him. “Gotcha, this information isn’t freely given out - usually only chunin and above are allowed to possess a copy of these. I wouldn’t have put it past him to at least show you one, though. This, kids, is called a Bingo Book. It’s our village’s collection of information on dangerous shinobi. Our book is split into several sections - sections for shinobi from each village other than our own and a section for rogue shinobi. Some have bounties on their heads, and those bounties will be listed.

“According to the latest edition of our Bingo Book, which was only updated a couple of weeks ago, Momochi Zabuza is  _ not _ a rogue shinobi. Meaning...?” 

An image of her father ordering silence on certain matters flashed across Hinata’s mind. “Perhaps they don’t wish for people to know that he has gone rogue? Zabuza is a very powerful shinobi, perhaps his departure from Kiri might make their enemies think the village to be weakened?”

Sasuke nodded, appending his own thoughts to Hinata’s statement. “He was carrying one of those famous swords - if word got out that he had disavowed himself from Kiri and possessed that weapon, others might try to steal it. Kiri probably want it back, and so would prefer to deal with him on their own.”

“Very good,” Anko smiled. “Now I know that Obito has some crazy idea about all of this cooking up in that noggin - care to share?”

Obito stared contemplatively at a wall, with a finger tapped to his cheek. “I think that Zabuza is working against Kiri’s current leadership. Another piece of information missing from this is the substantiated rumours that Kirigakure are committing acts of genocide against clans with kekkei genkai. Do you all remember the dome that Haku created? It was made of ice - Hyoton; a Kekkei genkai I’ve once read about.”

“Okay... but how does that connect to everything...” Sasuke began, before trailing off. “Oh.”

“Yeah. A powerful member of a major hidden village goes rogue, and the matter is kept quiet. The rogue shinobi in question continues to wear his hitai-ate without striking through the village emblem. That same shinobi travels with and apparently cares for another shinobi who is a target of genocide by the village he comes from. They need him, or at least his weapon, back. And yet they don’t seem to be sending Hunters after him? It’s not  _ proof _ that there’s a building rebellion, but it would make sense. If anything, the earlier conversation with Zabuza lines up with this idea.”

“But what does that mean for us? For these negotiations?” Sasuke asked. The look on his face made it clear that he knew there was some small detail he was missing, and he didn’t like missing it.

Hinata saw it, and so she spoke up. The soreness of her injuries washed over her again, and so the best she could do was a loud whisper. “Obito thinks that Konoha should ally with the rebels. Then, after a successful rebellion, Konoha will have a new ally.”

“Exactly!” Obito called out excitedly, awkwardly giving his friend a thumbs up. Hinata had her eyes closed, but Sasuke and Anko-sensei both gave him a strange  _ look _ . 

“Never do that again,” Sasuke shook his head disapprovingly, pushing Obito’s hand down. “Anyway, Konoha couldn’t exactly be public about such an alliance - that could build tension with other villages who don’t get along with either us or Kiri. What if we pretended to take them back as prisoners?”

“Decent idea, but no,” Anko refuted. “That’d defeat the whole purpose of protecting Zabuza’s pearly white image. But don’t worry about that part. Between Zabuza and I, we can work out the details of how to proceed  _ right now _ . What I want you three to think about is what we can offer in the longer run. We need enough of a bargaining chip to bring them to Konoha to discuss with the Hokage - after all, why the fuck would a sane shinobi willingly walk into an enemy village? What could we  _ actually _ suggest as representatives of the village? You three come up with what you can, and if it sounds reasonable to me, I’ll use it. Take some time to discuss amongst yourselves while I go for a walk, okay?”

Anko pushed herself up slowly, still limited by her own injuries.

Sasuke looked to Obito, who shrugged. “What? I’m not the only smart one here, what do you two think?”

The three genin discussed their ideas for an hour. Sasuke and Hinata both had a much deeper understanding of clan politics, and were able to offer their opinions on how the major clans might react to involvement with a rebellion in another village. The consensus they came to was that the clans wouldn’t want to be so publicly involved in such a conflict. At the same time, though, they wouldn’t be opposed to having a strong alliance with a village such as Kiri. Kiri was well known for its civilian smiths and artisans - they could improve Konoha’s supply of weaponry and tools. 

Obito suggested that there was no reason that the alliance had to be public. It could easily be very secretive. When the time was right, Konoha could send a few tactical teams to fight in a coup. Until then, they could exchange information and Konoha could help to supply the rebellion in exchange for some mercenary work that furthered Konoha’s own interests. 

When Anko returned, they summarised their ideas and answered many of their sensei’s probing questions, until Tsunami and Tazuna had declared that dinner was ready. After dinner, Anko made several notes in a small scroll, and they turned in for the night.

  
~  
  


Zabuza scratched at his chin as he considered the Konoha shinobi’s proposal. Agreeing to accompany them back to their village wasn’t without risk; it would be easy for them to betray him. Word was that Konoha had mind-readers for when torture did not work - there was no guarantee that Zabuza could keep valuable intel about the rebellion from them. And yet... It seemed to be an opportunity that the Mei might not want to pass up. Perhaps... 

“I can’t make the decision to visit Konoha on my own. You’re not my targets anymore, so we have no reason to fight. Your mission is to guard Tazuna until the bridge is completed, yes? Let me go consult my people, and I’ll return before you finish. Deal?”

“Leave your kid as collateral, and you have a deal.”

Zabuza looked towards the closed door, behind which his student waited in the company of the three Konoha genin. Haku would be  _ very _ displeased with this. The boy was useful, but he was also very attached. This would be good for him, though. Learning to live without Zabuza’s guidance would be important for the boy, and so the swordsman nodded. “I’ll return within two weeks.”

  
~  
  


Kiba sighed and rolled out of bed. He must have entangled his legs with his sheets during the night, because they followed him out of bed. The usually deft boy stumbled, and fell on his face. The small white ninken who had been resting beside the bed jumped up with a start and began yipping with displeasure. “Sorry, Akamaru,” Kiba groaned as he pushed himself to his feet. Kakashi had given them the day off, but he couldn’t help but feel as though he was forgetting something important.

The young genin sniffed at the air, his stomach growling in response. He could smell frying meat. Kiba stretched, dressed himself, and stumbled out of his room with Akamaru trotting along behind him. Following the delicious scent to the kitchen, Kiba realised what day it was. There were assortments of food covering almost every inch of counter space. Unsurprisingly, his sister  _ yelled _ when she saw him. “There you are, dumbass! We’ve been here slaving away for  _ hours _ while you got your beauty sleep. What are you wearing? Go get changed, we have guests coming any minute now!”

“Good morning to you too, Hana,” Kiba grumbled, irritated. He knew he’d slept in, and he knew he was supposed to help. But still, being yelled at by his impatient sister was not what he wanted to deal with on an empty stomach. If she really needed his help, she could have just come to wake him up. 

“What was that?” Kiba’s mom barked at him. “I want none of that attitude when we have our guests, Kiba. Or did you want to be on bathing duty this week?”

Kiba gulped. Bathing duty was the  _ worst _ possible job. He didn’t mind just washing Akamaru, but the whole kennel? Hell no. Kiba meekly turned around and went to get changed out of his morning homewear. After throwing a light grey jacket with the Inuzuka clan insignia over his shirt and swapping his shorts out for a pair of dark pants, Kiba returned to see if there was anything left to be done before the guests arrived. 

While Akamaru ran with some other dogs to clear some remaining clutter out of the clan’s foyer, Kiba set some glasses out at the dining table. By the time he’d finished, a group of new scents mixed in with the air; the guests had arrived. There was one familiar scent among them, and for that he was relieved. Kiba wasn’t good at all of the social customs between clans, so it was helpful to know that one of his classmates would be among them. 

Kiba followed his mother and sister outside, to where a few other prominent members of the Inuzuka clan were also waiting, each accompanied by their ninken. A tall, widely built man with a mane of messy red hair opened the gates to the Inuzuka compound and stepped in. He was followed only by two people; The first was a similarly large woman with  _ immaculate _ makeup - Kiba’s attention was quickly drawn to the sharp, elegant orange wings accentuating her dark eyes and couldn’t help but appreciate how gracefully the woman carried herself. 

The second was Kiba’s Academy classmate, Chouji, dressed similarly to how he did back at the Academy. He had his open, short-sleeved green shirt atop his white clan undershirt, and a neatly wrapped scarf to complete the look. He wore dark shorts, and yet little skin was exposed. His arms and legs were wrapped neatly with white bandages. But what most easily stood out about his appearance was a relaxed, carefree grin. Chouji had always been someone who seemed entirely at peace with his life, and today was no exception.

“Chouza, Kimiko, how are you?” Tsume greeted politely, waving an arm to welcome them into her home. 

“We have been well, thank you. And you?” Chouza responded curtly. He walked in alongside his family, and followed Tsume inside her home. The various Inuzuka shinobi greeted both Chouza and Kimiko before returning to their various duties around the compound. Kiba and Hana returned inside after their guests had entered.

They moved to the dining table to sit for their meal. Tsume sat at the head of the table, with Hana to her right and the Akimichi adults to her left. At the other end of the table, Kiba and Chouji sat opposite one another. While the adults moved between idle gossip and discussions of inter-clan politics, Kiba and Chouji mostly caught up on each others lives in the month since they’d last seen one another.

Since they’d graduated, both had been placed on separate teams, and led entirely separate lives. On occasion, they passed one another in the street, but they weren’t close, and so they politely acknowledged one another and moved on. Now, though, there wasn’t much to do other than catch up fully over the meal. 

They exchanged stories about their training and absurdly boring D-rank mission ‘accomplishments’. Kiba told Chouji of the hellish joint training sessions Kakashi made his team do with Team Guy. Chouji had less eventful experiences to share - the worst it got was whenever Ino was particularly fed up with Shikamaru’s blase attitude. 

Once they had finished eating, a predictable line came from Tsume. “Kiba, why don’t you go outside with Chouji for a while. I don’t mind where you go, just be back before sundown.” Every time another clan came to visit, they would share a meal and then Tsume would send Kiba away. They always had clan matters to discuss that Kiba wasn’t allowed to be involved in due to his rank. He was told that he’d be included once he made chunin. 

Obediently, Kiba rose and led Chouji outside, and then left the compound to walk through the village. Akamaru, who had been outside for the duration of the meal, bounded up to them and leapt up onto Kiba’s head.  
  


~  
  


“So they even let big lumps like him be shinobi these days, huh?” A man sniggered quietly to his friend as Kiba and Chouji walked past. Kiba snarled, and balled his hands into fists. He made to lash out at the man, but Chouji put an arm out in his way.

“Don’t bother, it’s not worth it,” Chouji urged.

“How can you just let them talk about you like that? It’s just-” Kiba growled, furious at the derisive ignorance behind the comments being made about Chouji.

“I don’t like it - what they say  _ is  _ hurtful,” Chouji painted a sad smile onto his face. “But if we try to hurt them in return, it will only get worse. You and I both know that the relationship between civilians and shinobi can be rocky. If they look at someone like Asuma-sensei, they can trust him, but if they look at people like us, they don’t. Do you know why?”

“Because they’re stupid!” Kiba growled. “They don’t understand that we-”

“No.” Chouji’s soft voice somehow cut Kiba off with ease. “They do understand. They understand that we protect them, they understand that we’re powerful. But that’s why. When they look at someone like Asuma-sensei, they see someone who looks like them and talks like them. They can  _ relate _ to him more. But when they look at an Akimichi, or even an Inuzuka, they see  _ difference _ . They feel unsafe around us because they don’t know how to relate to us. And so they make fun of us in order to feel more in control, more safe.”

“But... It’s just so  _ wrong! _ How can you be so calm about this?” Kiba demanded.

“That’s just it,” Chouji laughed almost derisively. “That’s my secret. I’m always angry. The anger and the hurt never go away. It’s all about what we do with it. Kiba, you have training grounds in your clan compound, right? Can we use them?”

  
~  
  


The Inuzuka compound’s training field was divided into two main spaces - an open flatland for direct combat training and a forested area for everything regarding mobility. Chouji asked if they could use the open space, and since nobody else was there, Kiba said it would be fine. Chouji stepped forward and ran through a series of hand seals. They weren’t nearly as slow as Kiba expected, and within moments Chouji had completed what had to be at least 10 seals. 

“Earth Release: Practice Brick Technique!” Chouji called out, slamming his hands into the ground. A series of earthen walls, each about as tall as the two boys combined, rose up from the ground. They looked pretty solid, and Kiba knew almost immediately what they were for. Kiba then saw Chouji fit his hands into what looked  _ almost _ like a Bird seal before the Akimichi boy’s arms doubled in size. 

“I get angry when people call me fat as though it’s a bad thing!” 

_ Punch _ .

“As if they don’t understand that Akimichi are  _ stronger _ because we have fat in our bodies to contribute to our expansion technique!”

_ Punch. _

“I’m  _ furious _ that they won’t give me a chance to show my kindness and win over their hearts!”

_ Punch. _

“I’m just so...”

_ Punch. _

“damn..”

_ Punch. _

“FRUSTRATED!”

_ Punch. _

_ Punch. _

_ Punch. _

Chouji took in a deep breath, relaxed, and let his arms return to their normal size. He then turned to look at Kiba, who was staring with wide eyes. Around him lay destruction that Kiba felt more than he saw. There was debris everywhere, pieces of dirt and stone scattered across the field. Every time Chouji struck one of the earthen walls, Kiba  _ felt _ his anger in such a pure form. Was this the same person? Was this the boy who would ever so gently catch butterflies on his finger after a day of class?  _ Wow _ .

“Your turn,” Chouji invited Kiba to take over, pointing at the many remaining walls. “I always work out my anger before I spar with anyone, so that I won’t ever go too far and hurt them.”

Once upon a time, Kiba would have laughed at Chouji for suggesting that the latter might be able to hurt him in a fight. But now? Now, Kiba absolutely believed it. Those punches weren’t just hard, they were  _ fast _ . Kiba stepped up and took in a breath to focus his chakra. His mom had only started teaching him the Beast Transformation technique a few months ago, so it still took him a few seconds of clear focus to pull it off.

Allowing his chakra to flow through his body, focusing in the areas that he needed to affect, Kiba’s body began to change. His nails morphed into claws, his canine teeth became more pronounced fangs, and he dropped onto his hands and feet. Once the transformation had taken place, it became easier for Kiba to maintain a concentration of chakra through his arms and legs to reinforce his every movement. His senses became clearer, and he could  _ feel _ his body being easier to control.

“I hate the ‘jokes’ people make about us and our ninken,” Kiba spat, his voice taking on a more guttural tone. He leapt through the air at one of the earthen walls.

_ Slash. _

“I  _ hate _ the way my sister walks all over me and then my mom...”

_ Slash. _

“just lets her...”

_ Slash. _

“get AWAY WITH IT!”

_ Slash. _

_ Slash. _

_ Slash. _

Kiba landed deftly on all fours in front of Chouji, looking around at the carnage he’d left. Where Chouji had just busted the walls into pieces, Kiba had shredded them with his chakra reinforced claws. There were still a few walls standing, and Kiba still felt... pent up. After looking around at the remaining walls, he looked back to Chouji who just nodded. With that as the only affirmation he needed, Kiba took off and poured the rest of his frustration into decimating the remaining earthen walls. When he was done, he landed and dispelled his transformation.

“See,” Chouji offered. “It feels good to just let off steam without hurting anyone. I do this when I’m extra upset, but usually I just pour all these emotions into my training. But... Shika and Ino don’t understand it, and it gets a bit lonely. So, Kiba, do you want to spar with me?”

  
~  
  


Kiba panted heavily, and winced as he tenderly pressed on a large bruise now colouring his ribs. He stared up at the clouds, dazed by what had just happened. After he’d had some time to catch his breath, Chouji appeared in his vision, extending a hand to him. Kiba grabbed it, and stood up with Chouji’s help. He knew Chouji wasn’t weak, but Kiba had prided himself on his taijutsu ability. Back in the academy, he was one of the best at it. But this? Kiba got his ass handed to him.  _ Just how hard has he been training? _

* * *

**AN:** I know some of you are keen to see detailed fights. I promise that you’ll get more than your fill when the chunin exams come around (soon)!


	20. Chapter 18 - Returning Home

The two weeks following Zabuza's departure were strange, to say the least. Anko had demanded that he leave Haku behind as 'collateral', but Haku didn't seem to interpret it the same way. The teen was convinced that he was there to keep an eye on the shinobi from Konoha. For the first few days, Anko tried to poke and prod at him to make him break and open up, but then she'd given up. He was curt, passive and compliant, and always, _always_ watchful. Because of his stubborn stoicism, Team 6's attempts at casual socialisation felt jarring. They would relax and try to share a joke, and Haku would just sit there, smiling politely.

Obito had wanted to commune with Kurama at least every few days, but his identity as a jinchuriki had to be kept from Haku; they didn't trust him enough yet. Under the boy's watchful eye, there was no way that Obito could enter into his mindscape without notice. Obito knew that, in theory, he _should_ be able to commune with the tailed beast in his sleep, but he'd yet to figure out how. Instead, the jinchuriki hoped that Kurama would understand, and resolved to make time to talk once they'd returned to Konoha.

After a couple of days, word of Gato's demise had travelled far enough that workers began to return. From there on, the daytimes became filled with manual labour. The shinobi all went to pitch in on the construction work - both to help with the actual work and to make the workers feel safer. In order to suppress any rumours spreading about Haku, Anko insisted that he keep himself under a transformation. He took the form of an unassuming older man - he claimed to be a friend from Tazuna's travels who had come to help out.

At the end of the two weeks, the bridge was structurally complete. It still needed some additional features - guard rails, perhaps some patterns carved into the stone for aesthetic design. Tsunami, who had insisted on helping out to honour her late husband, had insisted that making the bridge at least a little bit prettier would help to bring in business. That afternoon, the team of workers raced to pack away all of the construction materials and tools before the sun had set. There was some dirt and debris still left, but they could clean that in the morning.

As they walked on the forested path that led back to Tazuna's house, Obito was the first to notice a very faint mist that crept through the air. It was subtle, but grew ever so slightly denser the closer they got to the house. When Haku noticed, a small spring entered his steps, and it didn't evade the others' notice. Once the house came into view, they saw the figure of Zabuza sitting cross-legged on the low roof that hung above the front entrance. _So, the guy has a flair for the dramatic when he's not trying to assassinate people, huh?_ Obito thought, and chuckled.

"Why, such excellent timing you have, Mister Demon," Anko teased, playfully throwing a single shuriken at the Kiri shinobi. It soared towards the top of his head, and he lazily ducked below the incoming projectile.

"Is that any way to greet a potential new ally?" Zabuza deadpanned, straightening up and jumping from his rooftop perch. He landed in a crouch, and then stood up to look at the group of Konoha shinobi, a hand outstretched to shake.

Anko stepped forward to shake. "So, your mysterious masters gave you the go-ahead to parley?"

 _Is it really a parley if we're not actually enemies?_ Obito wondered to himself.

"The big boss has allowed me to negotiate on our behalf, but only directly with your Hokage. On to more important business though, did my kid behave?" Zabuza's blank face lifted into a grin that showed his menacingly sharp teeth.

"Did I be- what? Master!" Haku protested, his face flushing lightly. "I've kept an eye on them the whole time - I do not believe they've done anything to betray you."

The sound of a _thwack_ echoed through the forest surrounding Tazuna's home. Zabuza's hand was firmly planted on his forehead. When he removed it, a red mark remained. He opened his mouth to speak, but no words came. After a moment, the swordsman sighed.

"Your brat's never had friends before, has he?" Anko snickered. Zabuza shook his head, dismayed. "Well, that explains _a_ _lot_."

~

"So, here's the rundown," Zabuza began to explain. "Haku and I will join you when you return to Konoha. Of course, there's no way in hell a competent shinobi village will just let me walk in, so I consent to restraints and questioning if needed. Then, I'd like to speak directly with your Hokage to negotiate terms of an official alliance. The intention of my people is that, when we have reclaimed Kirigakure, we will become an open ally to Konoha in return for your aid."

~

As the group got close to Konoha, a swift handover took place. Zabuza and Haku semi-hesitantly parted with all of their tools and weaponry, allowing the four Konoha shinobi to carry them for the time being. Since Konoha and Kiri weren't on the best of terms, it was important for the two Kiri rebels to present themselves as peacefully as possible. Once they were close enough to the gate, Anko began swiftly signing towards one of the three chunin on guard duty. When she had stopped moving her hands in their rapid dance, the chunin flickered away.

Another guard opened the gate, blowing a strong breeze towards the group. Obito brushed a few stray locks of red hair away from his eyes, and stepped into the village. It had been just over three weeks since they'd left, but enough had happened that it felt far longer. Obito knew the change he felt in the air was purely psychological, but he stopped to savour it all the same.

"Alright, kids. What happens now?" Anko quizzed her students, turning on the spot to face the rest of the group.

"We go to the Hokage tower to deliver an informal mission report, after which we need to write up and file a paper report," Hinata answered.

"Oh, we're gonna get our asses handed to us," Sasuke added, groaning.

"Yeah, Uncle Fugaku's really gonna let loose," Obito laughed, half in true amusement and half in fear. "Also, I suspect that we'll be delivering a report directly to him given the nature of what happened."

"Bingo! For a normal C-Rank mission, you'd just debrief with one of the desk chunin. When anything like what we've done happens, though, it tends to go up a rank or two." Anko pivoted again, and took to the rooftops. Her team and their travelling companions followed.

When they arrived at the floor of the tower on which the Hokage's office was, the chunin from the gate was there waiting. As the entourage approached, the chunin looked up and spoke. "Come right through, the Hokage is waiting to see you."

They followed the chunin down the hall, and into the Hokage's office. The chunin promptly left, and closed the door behind them. The Fifth Hokage looked up with his usual stern 'work' face. "Uncle Fu-"

Before Obito could get more than a word in, the Hokage spoke. "Tokubetsu Jonin Mitarashi Anko, you and your team of Genin students were assigned a simple C-Ranked escort mission three weeks ago. When you incapacitated two chunin from an enemy village, you should have returned to Konoha immediately. Yet you proceeded onward with the mission. Three weeks later, you return to Konoha, mission supposedly complete, accompanied by two more shinobi from that same enemy village. I will give you two minutes to provide a sufficient enough explanation, otherwise you will be demoted to the rank of chunin and thusly stripped of your leadership of Team 6."

Anko visibly gulped. "Erm, well..." She took in a deep breath. "I can provide full details in the mission report later, sir. More importantly, Momochi Zabuza of the Seven Swordsmen is here to represent a _certain faction_ in forming an alliance with Konoha."

"Very well," Fugaku responded, eyes narrowing. "Obito, might you create some privacy for us all?"

Obito met the Hokage's eyes, and nodded. "I'll need to make them, can you give me a moment please?"

With the Hokage's assent, Obito sat down cross-legged on the floor in the centre of the Hokage's office. He was one of two people in Konoha who knew how to make _proper_ privacy seals, which they did not like to widely distribute. Certain formulae were better not being circulated, otherwise enemies could obtain copies and develop counter-formulae.

Taking only a minute of his time, Obito took out four blank seal tags, his ink pot and calligraphy brush. Quickly he drew up the seals being requested, and handed them off to Hinata and Sasuke as each was completed. Once they'd been placed around the room, Obito packed away his supplies and stood up. "We should be safe from prying eyes and ears now."

"Thank you, Obito. Now, Anko, would you please continue?" Fugaku filed away the paperwork that was previously in the centre of his desk, to demonstrate that his full attention was now on the conversation at hand.

"Sir. We encountered resistance in Wave; a local crime lord had hired mercenaries and shinobi to assassinate Tazuna, the builder who had come to Konoha seeking an escort. To be clear, Zabuza and Haku were among the hired shinobi. However, by a certain turn of events, Gato was... dealt with. Obito will deliver the full report on these events, as they were his doing. Once that... happened, we parlayed with Zabuza. He is part of a faction in Kirigakure that seeks to overthrow the rule of the Fourth Mizukage, and is here to negotiate a possible alliance with Konoha. I believe that you should hear the rest from him." Anko stepped back, and bowed her head. Whilst Obito was still holding himself back from a fit of giggles, Sasuke and Hinata stared, bug-eyed, at the strange behaviour their sensei was exhibiting.

"I see that you are a busy man, and so I will keep this plain," Zabuza began, bowing his head as a sign of respect. "Our rebellion wishes to request some form of discreet aid from Konoha. Once we have overthrown the Fourth Mizukage, we will establish Kiri as an official ally of Konoha. We can develop a partnership that will involve not only military allegiance, but trade deals; it is no secret that we have the best quality metalwork in the elemental nations, and we are willing to help outfit your armories. If you are interested, perhaps we can continue this conversation later?"

Fugaku considered the proposal. "No, I would wish to have this full conversation now. But if you do not mind, we shall go elsewhere. I see that you have handed over your weapons as a sign of trust, but I cannot so safely assume that you still bear no ill will."

The Hokage's irises appeared to spin, all the while turning from their regular onix to a deep red, with three black _tomoe_ settling into view as the spinning stopped. "I assume a man of your experience understands what this means?"

Zabuza's mouth lifted into a grin, showing his sharpened teeth on full display. "Of course, I wouldn't have expected any less. Would someone be so kind as to catch us?"

"What?" Came the chorus of the three genin, before both Haku and Zabuza's bodies hit the floor.

~

After accompanying the Hokage and the two unconscious visitors into one of the buildings used by the Intel division, Team 6 was dismissed. Hinata nervously excused herself, and ran inside the building. She paced quickly along the corridors and up a set of stairs until she found her knuckles rapping on one particular door.

"Come in," came the deep, rough voice from inside.

Hinata placed her hand on the doorknob but instead of opening the door, she hesitated. Was this the right thing to do? She didn't want to be of any trouble... but she needed help.

"Take your time, Hinata." The voice called out again, calm and patient.

Hinata ran words of reassurance through her mind, and twisted the knob. With a gentle push, the door swung open, revealing Ibiki sipping a cup of tea at his desk. As Hinata meekly walked in and sat down in a seat opposite Ibiki's desk, the man set his tea down and looked at her.

"How was your mission?" Ibiki asked, smiling gently.

Hinata took a breath. "It was... eventful. Beyond the initial parameters."

"So I gathered," Ibiki responded, when it was clear Hinata had no more to add. "We received your team's... gift three weeks ago, and when you didn't return I assumed that Anko decided to carry on with the mission."

After that, neither spoke for a while. Once again, when it had become clear that Hinata was not intending to say any more, Ibiki asked his question. "What can I help you with today? Would you like to discuss the mission, or is there something else?"

"Something else," Hinata muttered, almost inaudibly. "I... I don't want-"

"Take your time," Ibiki said, and he resumed sipping from his tea.

Hinata took in a breath, and tried again. "I don't want to go home. When- We- I spent three weeks outside of Konoha, away from my father, from my clan. It was... I don't want to go back."

Ibiki set his tea back down. "I understand. You know I share your disdain for your clan. Hiashi is powerful, though, and his reach covers almost all of Konoha. Where would you go?"

"I... I was hoping that I could stay with you." Hinata pushed the words out, fighting against the voice inside her head that told her to stop being an inconvenience to others. It was like Ibiki said, she deserved to take up her own space, to have her own desires, to ask for things.

"Hinata, I-" Ibiki started.

"Please!" Hinata interjected. Ibiki smiled; that was the first time Hinata had ever spoken over him, and it was a sign of progress. He sighed, and looked Hinata directly in the eyes.

"Hinata, let me be clear with you. I cannot simply take you in. Your father would easily have the political power to put an end to that, and to me." As Ibiki spoke, Hinata's face grew downcast. "Nor can you simply leave. You are the clan heir, and as much as they would be comfortable to elect your sister to take your place, they won't allow you to just walk away.

But, there is just one option. It wouldn't free you from your clan, but it could buy you time. In two months, the next Chunin Exams will be held.

"I can give you until then, and if you are able to pass the exam and become a chunin, you may have the ability to distance yourself from Hiashi's grasp. You will still have to live in your home, though you will be able to spend more time away from them."

"Whatever it is, I'll do it!" Hinata exclaimed, louder than she usually spoke.

"It will not be easy - you will not be able to speak with your teammates and friends for the duration. Additionally, you will be pushed to your absolute limits. Are you sure you want to go ahead with this?"

Hinata nodded firmly.

"Very well. You may stay here tonight, if you like. Then, tomorrow..."

Hinata listened to Ibiki's explanations intently, wearing an increasingly resolute expression the whole way through.

~

"I'm actually not allowed to tell you much about my mission - the report is 'need to know'." Obito announced over the dinner table, earning a disappointed frown from Naruto and a laugh from their parents.

"Oh, really?" Sora asked. "How did you manage that, on your first C-Rank mission?"

"Well, I'll tell you what I can. We were supposed to be guarding a bridge builder from the Land of Waves. Escorts, until the bridge was complete. But, we were waylaid by enemy shinobi, hired by a crime lord who had taken up residence in Wave. This crime lord didn't want the bridge to be built, and had gone to some lengths to try and get his way." Obito grinned.

"Oh, I know that look... What did you _do_?" Genma asked suspiciously. "Do I even want to know?"

"Yeah, yeah, what happened next?" Naruto chimed in, eager to hear more.

"Well, do you remember the summoning contract Orochimaru granted me as a graduation gift? Some rumours of an organised crime group being toppled by four geese might make their way to Konoha soon." Obito laughed mischievously.

"No way! Really?" Naruto was bouncing in his seat.

"Yeah, and I don't think it'll ever get traced back to me, because really... Geese?" Obito chuckled. "But on a more serious note, two of the shinobi we encountered were quite powerful - even Anko was struggling against one of them. The good news is that they might become our allies now, but the bad news is that's where I can't say any more."

"Awww," Naruto complained. "Hopefully whatever it was gets sorted out soon, and you can tell us more!"

"What about your mission, Naruto?" Obito asked. "Did anything crazy happen to your team?"

A proud glint shone in Naruto's eyes. "We fought pirates!"

"You what?" Genma and Sora both protested in unison.

"Why don't you start from the beginning?" Obito suggested.

"Oh, right! Well, we went to this port town in the Land of Tea, and got on a boat to this island shaped like a moon. They have a shinobi village there called Tsukigakure, and Guy was supposed to deliver a message to their leader, who's suuuuper pretty!" Naruto rambled. "We had some time to spend there because Guy and their Tsukikage had to talk about some stuff. Guy wanted us to meet the shinobi there, and so we hung out with one of their genin teams for a while. We went with them on a mission to patrol the seas, and beat up some pirates!"

The family continued to catch up and share stories of the last month as the night went on. Genma and Sora mentioned that they were both considering applying to take their own genin teams from the next graduating cohort of the academy, which both Naruto and Obito were in full support of. With full hearts and bellies, they all turned in for the night.

~

As the last moments of sunset passed, Mikoto packed away the unfinished remainder of her paperwork, which she would attend to in the morning. She'd received notice that Fugaku would be working late, and Itachi was out training in the forest nearby. Mikoto moved to the kitchen to prepare a pot of tea, when she heard footsteps coming from the front of the house. The steps sounded too heavy to be Itachi, so she wondered if Sasuke had returned home. While the tea steeped, she moved towards the corridor to see who it was - and it was Sasuke.

When she looked at him, she could instantly tell that something about him was different. She could feel it. Though in its baby stages, her youngest's sharingan had finally awoken. Mikoto could only hope that it hadn't been brought out the hard way. She smiled when her son saw her, and beckoned him to come through for some tea.

"You seem different. Did something happen while you were away in the Land of Waves?" Mikoto asked, her tone a mix of firm and welcoming.

"A... A lot happened. I was too weak. I'm done being so damn weak!" Sasuke exclaimed, tears welling in his eyes.

"I have to ask, dear. Did you see somebody die?" Mikoto pressed, knowing it might bring up painful memories if she was right.

"What? No. Why?" Sasuke seemed taken aback, still teary-eyed.

"Oh, thank goodness," Mikoto let out a sigh of relief.

"Why did you think someone died?" Sasuke asked, startled and confused.

Mikoto led her son to the nearest mirror, and directed Sasuke to look at his reflection. "Sasuke, focus some of your chakra to your eyes."

Understanding dawned upon Sasuke, and he did as he was told. He closed his eyes and clasped his hands together into a Tiger seal. As the chakra moved towards his eyes, he felt a disorienting shift, accompanied by a light headache. He opened his eyes, and stepped back in shock. Looking back at him were two red eyes, each with a single black tomoe.


	21. Announcement!

This is an announcement that I'm putting this fic on hiatus for maybe a month (maybe less)! I will also be making it fade away into nothingness, but do not fret! I'm rewriting the whole fic. This was my first piece of writing, and I've learned a lot in the time since I started working on it. So I'm going to rewrite this series with a bunch of changes and refinements, so keep an eye out!


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